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Lisa Ch. 01

By: phillyjeff



I could hardly believe my eyes. My little Lisa was on her knees sucking on what had to be the biggest cock I had ever seen. Now admittedly my “little Lisa” wasn’t so little anymore. She’s now seven months on the plus side of eighteen, well matured and quite beautiful, but as with most fathers, she will always be my “little” girl.

Lisa’s mother and I had divorced back when Lisa was only nine and I have custody of our only child. Our separation was anything but friendly. Even now I’m not quite sure what happened. We both had our careers and hobbies. It seems as if we just grew apart over time. The only thing we shared in common was our wonderful daughter.

Now Lisa is a senior in high school. Graduation is just a few months away, and her departure for college is scheduled for not long after that. I’ve been giving that a great deal of thought lately, and the thoughts have been nothing but depressing. I’m really going to miss my baby when she leaves. We have more than just a father/daughter relationship – over the years we’ve become genuine friends, talking about anything and everything you can imagine. Lisa has been nothing but a genuine joy to me. Not the least bit rebellious, good grades, well-respected, and nice friends. 

I have not seen Lisa naked since she was eleven – and even then it was an accident. That’s why my current view was such a shock. She was on her knees, without a stitch of clothing, her long brown hair flung carelessly to one side of her head, her eyes closed, and her mouth full of… what was his name – Kevin, full of Kevin’s cock. She was moaning contentedly as her head bobbed rhythmically up and down. Kevin was laying back on her bed with his eyes closed and a bliss-filled look on his face. I could just barely make out his hips rising to meet Lisa’s willing mouth on each of her down strokes.

I was on my way out of the house when I saw them through her partially opened door. I wasn’t even supposed to be here. In that moment, though, time stood still for me. I have no clue how long I’d been standing there. Everything I’ve described to you I observed in an instant. The curve of her ass. The firmness of her breasts. The slimness of her waist. I couldn’t breath. I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed by the sight of it all.

I can’t describe for you the look that was on my little Lisa’s face as she swallowed – literally swallowed – Kevin’s cock. It was so serene. So content. So focused. And his cock was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I never got to see the head because Lisa’s lips never let go of it. But as she drew her mouth up I was shocked at the length and the thickness of it. Just the part that was showing had to be seven inches, and Lisa’s thumb and forefinger only just touched at she wrapped her little had around that monster at the base. For the briefest of moments I was a part of the scene – both my daughter with that fantastic dick in my mouth (something I had never done before), and Kevin, enjoying the sensation of receiving a blowjob from my very own little girl (something I had never even fantasized about before).

Coming to my senses I quickly moved further down the hallway hoping to make good my escape and deal with the emotions and sexual feelings coursing through my body. As I reached the top of the steps I was stunned to hear, “Mr. Frade, come back.” Kevin was calling me – I couldn’t believe it. I made a movement toward the steps. I would pretend I didn’t hear. But before I could go further, I hear, “Mr. Frade.” He was right behind me. I turned and looked at him as he stood naked before me. I tried without success not to allow my gaze to fall to his mid-section. I couldn’t let him know what I was thinking.

I tried to speak, to say anything, but I found I couldn’t. “Mr. Frade, come back to the bedroom with me.” With that demand he turned and went back into my Lisa’s bedroom. I stood there not knowing what to do. I couldn’t go forward and I couldn’t go back. What was the matter with me. “Dennis!” he called me by my first name for the first time, “NOW!”

Unaccountably I obeyed his command. I slowly made my way back to the bedroom. As I turned into the doorway I saw Kevin sitting back in his former position on the bed. Lisa, seeing me, jumped up with out the least bit of shame and embarrassment and ran to me like the child I still saw her to be, and as the woman she has become. Throwing her arms around me and pressing her beautiful young tits into my arms she squealed, “Daddy, I am so glad you came back!” For me this was like a scene straight out of the old “Twilight Zone” television series I watched in my younger days. I simply was a part of this play and could not escape it. I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to escape it. It was the most surreal experience of my life.

“Bring him here, Lisa,” Kevin ordered my daughter. Lisa dropped her arms from my neck, took my hands in both of hers, and with a twinkle in her eyes led me over to Kevin’s place on the bed. “Now undress him.” With that my daughter pulled up close to me with her forearms flat against my chest and began to work the buttons on my shirt. She never stopped smiling and never broke eye contact. As each button came undone I became aware that this was the single most sensuous moment in my life. 

As the last button came undone my little Lisa placed both of her hands flat against my chest. She then began to slowly run them up and out, teasingly over my now hard nipples, catching them under the folds of my shirt. Not stopping she ran her hands over my shoulders and down my back. My shirt, caught in her fingers slid off my back and fell to the floor.

Biting her lower lip, and with a mischievous grin, she lowered her hand to my belt and began to undo it. I was vaguely aware of the fact that Kevin was still in the room, but I was more centered on my little girl. After she unhooked my belt and the catch to my pants, I thought I would pass out as her hand brushed against my cock in her quest to lower my zipper. This was the first time she looked away from me. Her eyes dropped down as she slowly lowered my zipper. Glancing up at me again, only briefly, she sunk to her knees and lowers my pants and underpants in one smooth movement. She lifted each of my legs and guided them off, taking the socks at the same time. Her mission accomplished, she stood, kissed me on the cheek and then looked at Kevin. I suddenly became aware again that he was there. I was also keenly aware of the fact that I had a raging erection which seemed like a child’s compared to his. Kevin looked me up and down without emotion, almost clinically. Then, as if he had come to some sort of decision he looked at Lisa and said, “Okay.”

Lisa jumped and squealed with delight. She faced me, put her hands around my neck, pressed her body tightly against mine, and began to slide down me like a fire pole. I was aware of every single sensation. Her nipples as they rubbed against me and her hands as they slid down my back and found my ass. 

As her mouth reached my cock she swallowed me just as I had seen her swallow Kevin. No preamble, no licking, no kissing, no handling. She just swallowed me whole. I remember thinking that this must seem like nothing for her after having Kevin’s incredible tool in her throat. I was momentarily shamed by this until she started bobbing head up and down, and then nothing mattered. I reached down to stroke her hair and pull her closer only to hear Kevin say, “No.” I looked up at him and he was shaking his head. “No touching,” he said, “not yet.”

The eroticism of the moment had me on the edge to begin with and I began to cum. Lisa wrapped her hands around my cock and began to pump me, never taking her mouth from my pole. I spurted into her mouth again and again. It was phenomenal. As I spent the last of my seed in her mouth she stood back in from of me and opened her mouth. I could see all of my cum resting there. She had now swallowed a drop.

Turning, she went to Kevin and kissed him deeply. I was shocked to see him drink every last drop of my spunk from Lisa’s willing mouth. His tongue darted out and wiped the insides of her cheeks, her lips, and her chin. As he finished, Lisa settle into his lap and snuggled close against him. It was as if the whole sequence of events was for his benefit.

Seeing my confusion, he laughed.

More, if you want it… 

Lisa Ch. 01



Chapter 1: Not All Rainy Days Are Sad

Lisa watched the puddles form on the streets as the rain fell. Each drop disturbed the street lamp's reflection in the puddles. Lisa sighed as she had hoped it would be a good night, yet her parents were gone and her good friend, Tianna was caught up at work. She thought of a few guys she could call, but each were either gone or still at work. Feeling bored she decided to just try and make the best of the night.

She went down to the TV room and turned on something that seemed funny. "The Simpsons" she thought. "Homer is dumb enough to make the most bored person laugh." She then got herself some water to drink and sat at the computer to check email. As she rustled through all the lame emails she heard a knock come at the door. She wondered who it could be.

Lisa adjusted her spaghetti strap top and jeans as she quickly checked herself out in the mirror, just in case it was a hot guy. She then peered through the spy hole to see who it was. She recognized the person as Linzee, a girl she knew of in high school. Linzee was a couple years older, but Lisa remembered seeing her in the halls. Feeling safe she opened the door. At this point the water was gushing down so she kindly let her in. 

Linzee stepped in and was soaked. She took of her jacket that, at this point, was hardly worth wearing and placed it in on the tile in the doorway to avoid getting anything wet. She explained how her car had broke down at the end of the street and that its seemed that no one was home anywhere. "You're the first person in four doors to open up." Lisa kindly found a towel and gave it to her to dry off with. Her black tank top clung to her skin and bra revealing every outline of her of her natural C-cups. Lisa caught herself admiring Linzee's shape, but then asked "Can I get you a drink?"

"Sure water would be fine. Not that I haven't had enough of that." Lisa giggled and hurried off to get some water. When she returned Linzee had just finished drying off her legs and short shorts. Linzee was still fairly wet. But at least now she was out of the rain. "So you mind if I wait her until the tow truck arrives? It should only be an hour."

Lisa understood and felt that she really had no choice though she didn't mind being nice and accepted the offer. Linzee tried to dry her hair but the gel, now wet from the rain, just made things worse. Obviously frustrated by it she asked if it would be OK to take a quick shower to warm up and fix her hair. Once again Lisa felt that it would be rude to deny the request so she agreed. 

Lisa gave her a new towel and showed her to bathroom with the best shower. Linzee thanked her as she closed the door. While the shower was running Lisa felt a little strange. She couldn't help but to return her thoughts back to Linzee's chest. How nicely they had become. So full and on her short 5'1 frame they looked even nicer. Lisa shook her head to clear the thoughts out of her mind and made some hot chocolate for her guest.

Soon she heard the water turn off and in a few minutes Linzee was in the kitchen wrapped up in the towel. Her jet black hair looked so soft smooth as it was just barely fluffed dry. Lisa soon found herself admiring it and her dark eyes. She almost felt herself get lost in them when Linzee asked if the hot cocoa Lisa has holding was for her. Lisa smiled and blushed a little as she nodded and handed over the mug.

The two girls sat down around the table and sipped their hot cocoa and tried to make small talk. Not much was said, just a few thoughts of how life had changed and how high school had its ups and downs. From there things moved towards boys and the troubles they bring. Lisa was shocked to hear how Linzee found it hard to get dates. She was so hot. Linzee explained that she was a bit picky so that kept most of the date numbers down. For a moment silenced enter the room once more. Linzee then looked at Lisa and giggled. She reached her finger out and wiped off a hot cocoa mustache that was left on Lisa's upper lip she then licked her finger clean. 

Lisa felt chills run through her body. Linzee smiled as if she had noticed the chills and looked deep into Lisa's eyes. Lisa tried to look down or away, but she couldn't help but to look back. Lisa grew a bit nervous as light tingles were forming inside her. Her hands shook a little under the table. "What is going on?" she thought. Just then Linzee stood up and, still looking into her eyes, removed her towel and kindly handed it back to Lisa. "Here is your towel back."

Lisa's eyes fell automatically to Linzee's chest. She tried to stop looking but she couldn't. Linzee stepped closer. Her breasts were directly in Lisa's face. Lisa looked up a bit flushed. She held out her hand and took the towel. "uhhh tha...I mean you're welcome." Lisa turned to stand up but Linzee had taken a few steps closer, straddling Lisa and the chair. Linzee placed a finger under Lisa's chin and lifted it up. Then with an evil grin, "Don't guys just suck? Why do we even need them?" She then slithered down and sat on Lisa's lap. Lisa, still not knowing what to do just sat there. 

Linzee's hands slid up Lisa's arms and then took her head softly and held it as she leaned in for a kiss. Lisa wanted to pull away but couldn't. Her heart was pounding. Her nipples had began to be alert. Her curiosity got the best of her and she let the kiss happen. Lisa had been kissed by girls before. This wasn't new. But never by a nude girl. And never in such a way that her head began to spin. Lisa closed her eyes as the soft kiss swept her mind off into a world of escape. One that was free of men who say "I love you" while they are hard, but act as if they are blind while soft. Lisa felt the soft, nude breasts rest just above hers as the kiss brought their two bodies closer.

The kissing must have trapped Lisa's attention because she made no counter moves as Linzee's fingers slowly lowered the straps to her top. Slipping them lower, Linzee allowed for enough room that the top could be slid down. Her perky breasts were now in full view. As a breeze passed Lisa became aware of this and felt slight panic. Linzee, recognizing the panic calmed her with a kiss and asked her to relax. "I promise you will be fine. More than fine even." She smiled softly. Lisa still didn't know what to do, but held still long enough for Linzee to slip the top up and over her head. Lisa's breast stood to attention and responded well to the soft finger tips that were now tracing her nipples.

Lisa was a bit nervous and excited at the same time. Thoughts of the whole thing raced through her head. She had always considered herself too boy crazy for any of this. She was at a loss, but one thing was for sure. She had never felt this good with any guy she had been with.

Linzee stood and lead Lisa by the hand over to the couch where she laid Lisa on her back. Her soft lips traced Lisa's neck with kisses as her fingers carefully unbuttoned the jeans. As Linzee lowered the jeans, Lisa became a bit embarrassed as the cool air brought to her attention that she wasn't completely dry down there. Linzee smiled as she felt the moist spot with the tip of her finger. "Looks like we need to take some wet clothes off of you now." She winked and gently caressed the spot with her finger. Lisa's body jerked a little as it sent a sensation rushing through her body. Her hands met Linzee's hand in a plea to stop her but just then it caressed just right and Lisa found her hands flinging to the cushions of the couch, gripping as if she was about to fall off it.

Linzee continued to caress as she softly kissed a nipple. Teasing it with a tongue she took it into her mouth. Sucking softly. Lisa felt her nipple begin to swell within Linzee's mouth. She also noticed that she was beginning to buck softly as Linzee's magic finger teased her uncontrollably. Linzee then sat up and slowly removed Lisa's panties, now drenched. Linzee then slid her hand back down Lisa's thigh and to the moist spot. She looked deep into Lisa's eyes as she slowly rubbed. Lisa tried to hide the excitement, but to no avail. She wanted it. She need it. And for some reason she felt that it had to be from Linzee.

Linzee knew the look Lisa had all too well and let her two fingers slide deep inside. Lisa tilted her head back and moaned. Linzee then curled her fingers upwards. Lisa's back arched as she turned her head towards the cushion and bit into it. Linzee continued to play with Lisa as if she were a violin maestro playing a classic piece. Lisa bucked and moaned deeply. Her chest heaved. Linzee built up some speed. Lisa could barely take it. She began to shake a little. Then all of a sudden froze and let out a deep, squealing moan. Followed by another. She came hard. Her body then grew limp and rested into the couch.

Linzee lick off her fingers and then knelt, placing her head between Lisa's legs. She softly began cleaning off the mess Lisa had made. Lisa felt a second orgasm begin to form. Lisa put her hands down to Linzee's head to try and stop her, but just then Linzee took her clit into her mouth and gently sucked. Lisa began to buck once more. Within a few seconds Lisa was coming again. This time much stronger.

Linzee then stood up and with a smile whispered into Lisa's ear. "Don't guys suck?" Lisa whimpered and nodded. Linzee then got dressed with spare clothes that she pulled out of her bag. She gave Lisa a soft kiss on the check and said "I better get going now."

"Don't you need to wait for the tow truck?"

"What tow truck?" She replied with an evil grin and left as she placed her number on the table near the door.



Lisa Ch. 01



As the sun rose above the hills, Lt. Lisa Falk nervously peeked over the edge of the ditch. No living soul in sight. All of the other squad members lay dead around the rocky slope. Her first combat mission! Her romantic vision of battle had been shattered by the nightlong slaughter. 

It all started out so wonderfully too! Lisa's platoon was part of one of the first co-ed combat units produced by the American Army. Their first assignment was to Somalia, Africa as the spear-head of a UN task force. Their enemy was the self-appointed dictator of Somalia, Mufar, and his vicious bandits. Lisa and her friends heard all of the horrible stories about them -- about their religious fanaticism, how they killed without mercy, how they treated their women like inferiors. After graduating from high school, Lisa felt it was her patriotic duty to enlist, and help overthrow the extremists, and set up a Western, feminist, and equal democracy. Now she was 21, and a graduate from boot camp, skill training as a combat soldier, and officer training school. Lisa, being an intelligent and charming young woman, quickly won the friendship and admiration of everybody she associated with. With nearly perfect scores in all of her exams and courses, she was the youngest woman officer in the American armed forces.

A week after their arrival Lisa went out with the rest of the platoon on their first combat patrol out into the jungle. Lisa loved how fine and polished everyone looked in their brand new combat fatigues and gear. They marched all day, tall and proud. As dusk approached the lieutenant ordered a halt for a quick break in a clearing on a hill. Relieved, Lisa sat down next to John Newman, her old schoolmate. Lisa unfastened and took off her hot, sweaty helmet. She was a lovely redhead with gentle, innocent eyes. An energetic smile always adorned her gorgeous triangular face. 

"Oh God, will we ever stop walking and go back to camp?" Lisa moaned.

"I certainly hope so, I'm getting pretty tired too." John replied.

"Johnny, do you think we'll run into... you know... the extremists?"

"Oh, I highly doubt it."

"I hope you're right. The stories scare me. They give me the creeps."

"Don't worry Lisa. I doubt we'll even see an extremist for quite some time. They're all cowards -- they prefer running over a fair fight."

John's head exploded into a shower of shattered bone and gore as a stream of high caliber rounds ripped through him. People screamed and scrambled for cover as machine guns raked the whole side of the hill. Mortar rounds sent streams of shrapnel into soldiers foolish enough to bunch up. 30 seconds into the battle, and already half the platoon was dead. The enemy had silently taken out all of the sentries, and completely surrounded the rest of the group for the kill. Some found cover in time and started returning fire, only to be picked off by snipers. 

All seemed lost, when a sound music to Lisa and her beleaguered comrades made itself heard over the nightmarish din -- the roar of gunships bearing down on the battle.

"Yes! We'll show those assholes!" a man Lisa didn't know exclaimed as the gunships charged up over the tree line.

Suddenly the lead aircraft burst into flames as a stinger plunged into it. The others pulled back, but were torn apart by a storm of rockets. The enemy had thought of everything!

The last to die was Lisa's sergeant, Denise Dawson. A tough, gaunt woman, Denise stood her ground, shouting encouragements to her surviving teammates, until she too went down under a hail of bullets from all directions. Lisa didn't fire off a single round. More terrified than she had ever been in her whole life, Lisa fell into a muddy ditch and blacked out.

Now that she was awake again, Lisa's mind raced. What would she do now? Lost and confused, she couldn't make it back to camp, assuming it even still existed. And she couldn't live out here all alone. Glancing down Lisa saw a radio clutched in the hand of a dead woman corporal. No, she couldn't use it. The enemy had almost certainly hacked into their communications channels, and would hunt her down if she attempted to use them.

Lisa barely stopped herself from letting out a shriek as a figure climbed over the hill into view. Anonymous behind a faded bandana, combat goggles, and a dented helmet the man clamored down the rocks. He wore old camouflage trousers and shirt, and carried an AK-47 rifle slung over his shoulder. He was not alone. At least 20 other men followed behind him.

Terrified, but seeing no alternative, Lisa stood up and walked towards the group, hands behind her head. Seeing her approach, the leading figure gestured towards her, and two men ran down. Lisa bit her lip painfully as they each gripped one of her arms, bruising them, and led her towards their leader.

Upon reaching the first man, his two minions held her firmly as he looked her over. The grimy appendages protruding from his fingerless gloves slipped into his shirt. They pulled out gripping a large bowie knife. Lisa tried desperately to hold back the tears as she felt the cold steel caress her cheek and throat. Suddenly and swiftly Lisa's captor whipped down the knife, slashing open her vest. The two men ripped it off down her arms. Now free of the stifling armor and gear, Lisa's womanly figure, at 5' 4," 120 pounds, revealed itself. 

Through the goggles Lisa could see the leader's eyes wander down to her buttoned shirt barely containing the lovely mammalian features behind them. The top several buttons were undone, teasing the eye. The bottom of the front of the shirt was also unbuttoned and tied in a knot, showing her delicious navel. Lisa didn't have a bra, and had no need for one. A year earlier, on a foolish dare from her friends, had enhanced her already ample breasts with implants. To her feminist friends she claimed to regret it, but inside, guiltily loved how they complemented her beautiful face and curvy figure. 

The man nodded to the two men holding Lisa. They finished stripping off her gear, and picked up the metal cuffs on her belt. Lisa heard a click as they forced her arms behind her back and snapped her wrists together with her own cuffs. Then they searched her again. Lisa felt scared and humiliated as they roughly ran their hands down her body. She bent her head in shame as they explored her breasts and crotch. Being a traditional feminist, she had permitted only a couple of men to kiss her before, and she never let any of them touch her. Being cuffed and roughly groped by two savages wasn't exactly the way she had in mind to be intimately touched for the first time!

Done with the amusing task of searching their prisoner the guards shoved Lisa forward and forced her down on her knees. Their leader stepped up and put his hand under her chin, squeezing her cheeks painfully, and tilted her head back and side to side, sizing her up like a slave girl at the market. An exploring hand slipped into her unbuttoned shirt and groped her left breast. Lisa gasped softly when he found her nipple and gave it a sharp tweak. Meanwhile he slipped the other hand down her trousers and stroked the neatly trimmed hair around her womanly region. To Lisa's relief, he didn't go any further than this. He violated and humiliated her, but he didn't enter her.

When he was finished, he signaled to the rest of the group, and they started moving back up the hill. One of the men grabbed Lisa by her arm, pulled her up on her feet, and shoved her forward in the same direction. Exhausted, famished, and humiliated she meekly followed the leader down the hill and through the trees. Soon they approached an old, large pickup truck hidden in the brush. The leader pushed her into the back and climbed in after her while one of the men took the wheel. The leader sat with Lisa on sprawled across the seat, watching her chest move up and down with her heavy breathing.

As the truck moved down a rough trail through the jungle, the leader removed his bandana and goggles. To Lisa's surprise, he wasn't a native Somali like she expected, he was a white man! His face was smeared with grime and filth, but still Caucasian none the less.

Lisa brought herself up onto her knees at the man's side. Now that she was fully awake and composed, Lisa felt enraged. How dare this barbarian treat her like some sort of sex slave? Lisa decided to chance trying to talk to him. By this time, over two thirds of the Somali population spoke English as a first language, so it was likely he would understand her- especially since he appeared to be a white man.

"Sir? Do you understand me?"

No response.

"Look, sir, this humiliating treatment is intolerable! I demand you give me all of the rights guaranteed in the Genev-"

Lisa's harsh rebuke was cut short by a slap across the face, reeling her head back against the truck door with a thud. Fear and pain flooding back into her brain, Lisa gazed up at her captor. For the first time since she'd seen him, he spoke.

"Alright wench, perhaps its time you understood the situation you're in. From your submissive, compliant behavior back in the clearing, I took you for an intelligent girl, sensible enough to understand what was expected of you. Now you've certainly disproved THAT first impression -- you may just be the stupidest bitch I've ever seen. Here you are, unarmed, hands tied, completely in my power -- I could beat you, rape you, or slit your throat if I pleased -- and you think you can kneel there and give me lectures?"

Lisa stared at him, wide-eyed with terror.

"Now, what do you say?" he continued.

"Umm... I'm sorry sir. I'm sorry!" Lisa gasped.

The captor raised his hand to strike her.

Lisa flinched and whimpered hysterically "Please don't! Please don't hurt me! I'll submit! I'll obey you!" 

Lisa got back up into a kneeling position again. "I'll be a good slave; I'll do whatever you want...please... master."

Lowering his hand, the man said "Well then -- looks like you're not quite as stupid as I thought."

The subjugated young woman averted her eyes from him and stifled a sob.

Continuing, he said "But don't worry. I'm not going to rape you -- yet. That's the rules. I have to bring all the spoils I find back to camp, so they can be properly divided. Now since I found you and did more than my share of the work, you'll certainly be given to me. But until then, I can't take you."

As Lisa thought about this, he suddenly moved forward, pushing her down against the seat. He ripped open her blouse, and pulled it down to her cuffed wrists behind her back. Her breasts were beautiful; large, yet perfectly rounded, with delicious, quickly hardening nipples at their peaks. Lisa felt the cold morning air on her shaven pubic region as he undid her belt, unzipped her trousers and pulled down her panties. Now completely vulnerable and too afraid to resist, Lisa stared up at her master, trembling.

Pulling off his gloves, he said "But... just because I won't screw you doesn't mean I'm not going to enjoy you."

Lisa shivered as he placed his cold hand on her body. She watched as his fingers lightly traced over her profile, starting at the base of her neck and moving down her chest. His hand moved down the valley between her breasts, and then detoured up to the left, lightly stroking her breast. 

Lisa's breasts had always been sensitive, compelling her to only wear blouses made of the softest material. The feeling of rough fabric rubbing her breasts and nipples was intolerable. This sensitivity enhanced the effect of his caresses over her breasts. Now her captor lightly traced slowly constricting circles around her areola. He flicked the hard nipple, and moved on down her body. 

As his hand ran over her navel Lisa tried to stop herself from giggling, but failed. Curious, her captor stopped and continued stroking her flat belly. She giggled louder.

"Please sir... don't! Don't! I beg you!"

He dug his fingers into her side, and her giggles gave way to hysterical, silent laughter, and her legs kicked uncontrollably. He stopped, apparently filing away this discovery for future reference, and continued down her belly. His hand stopped just short of her shaven opening. 

Now using both hands, he repeated the whole process, except this time roughly caressing Lisa's body. He concentrated on her breasts, squeezing and stroking them. His hand moved around her swollen right nipple, and started playing with it between his fingers. Lisa couldn't hold it in any longer, and let out a soft moan.

"You like this don't you, you little wench? You're enjoying every second of this, aren't you?"

Lisa felt humiliated and helpless, but her only response was throwing her head back and moaning even louder as he suddenly brushed his hand up her throbbing, wet clit. The sensations were driving Lisa mad, and making her wetter and wetter between her legs. Suddenly, his hands lifted up from her tortured nipples.

"Why are you stopping?" Lisa gasped.

Oh, I thought that's what you wanted, wench." He replied harshly.

All of Lisa's intelligence and composure abandoned her. All that remained was the burning sensation in her bowels. "No, no. Go on." She groaned.

He held her by the chin and smiled cruelly. "Beg me to. Grovel like the good slave girl you told me you wanted to be."

Tears forming in her eyes, Lisa whimpered "Please. Please finish me. I beg you... master."

"Very well then." And he continued his torment of her body, tweaking and toying with her swollen breasts and nipples even harder. The sensations of pain and pleasure flooded her mind. Lisa let out a squeal as she climaxed. The waves of the orgasm swept through her whole body. She didn't know it was possible to climax just from stimulating her nipples.

Relieved, Lisa regained control of herself, and looked up at her tormentor. Now finished with his plaything he gazed out the window, ignoring her. As Lisa regained her mind, and considered her position. She remembered how all her friends died fighting, while she cowered in a ditch and blacked out. She remembered how she threw herself at the feet of the first enemy she met. She remembered how she kneeled and let no fewer than three men grope and fondle her. She remembered how just a few minutes ago she begged this savage to violate her, like a whore. Lisa crawled to the corner of the seat closed her eyes and cried softly. This was going to be a long trip.



Lisa Ch. 01



Disclaimer: This story is science fiction cast in the future. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and should not be inferred. 

*****

Although it is a half hour until sunset, many of the sun worshipers on the beach are packing up to go home. Two tanned beach boys are building a fire to barbeque some hot dogs. Two girls are approaching. 

The first girl, Lisa, speaks: "Hey, we saw you out surfing. Awesome." 

A blonde haired, blue eyed boy replies: "Yeah, it's a fine day for the waves. Why don't you two join us, we are cooking up some dogs?" 

"No thanks," the second girl, Jesse, answers: "We need to be getting back to the dorm." 

Lisa frowns. "Come on Jesse, we don't need to be back until later." She notices some beers in an ice chest. "We are both over eighteen," Lisa interjects. 

The two boys chuckle. "Grab a 'brewski.' By the way, I'm John, and ugly over here is Paul." 

Paul reaches in the ice chest and grabs a hand full of ice and tosses it at John, who artfully dodges it. 

"Well, OK," Jesse responds. "There's time for the books later." 

"Are you college coeds?" Paul asks. 

"Yes," Lisa answers. "I'm fine arts and Jesse is education." 

John and Paul exchange glances and smile. 

"What do you guys do?" Asks Lisa. 

John replies: "We film sound bites for commercials, mainly, but also photography. We are also paparazzi of sorts." 

"Wow!" Jesse exclaims. John tosses beers to the girls while Paul breaks out some paper plates and potato chips. He is also heating some baked beans. Food is eaten and more beers drank. Paul produces some marijuana and the four drift into dream land--a hypnagogic state of serendipity. This weed was fortified. 

"It's getting late," Jesse warns. "We have to get back." 

"Let's stop by the studio and show you girls some of our 'fine art,'" Paul suggests, recalling Lisa's academic major. 

"But only for five minutes," Lisa demands. 

The four go by the studio. It is located in an aging, rough section of town. They pull into a garage with a reinforced steel door and take a commercial elevator to the loft. As Paul turns on the lights, John takes advantage of Lisa being temporarily blinded to hold a chloroform pad to her nose. With one girl unconscious, the two young studs waste no time in securing Jesse. 

The girls awaken to the rocking of a ship. There is a strong odor of fish. They are on board some kind of ocean-going ship, secured in cages. Both girls were hogtied, naked, and wearing some kind of chastity belt. 

The two girls drifted in and out of consciousness, struggling against a drug-induced torpor. After a while Jesse composes herself to speak: "My pussy is hurting," she complains. 

"Mine too," Lisa concurs. "And my asshole is sore as well. I feel some kind of dildo in my vagina." 

"What did they do to us?" Jesse asks. "And where are we being taken?" 

Footsteps approach. A burly, bearded man approaches.

"I'm Oleg," he grunted. "You are cunts." 

Jesse twisted her prone torso, trying to see the man. He walked behind her, putting on some green latex examination gloves and applying K.Y. Jelly. He began working his fingers into her asshole, but she resists. 

"Relax, cunt," Oleg demands. 

"Fuck you, you mean old lecher," Jesse retorted. 

"You will soon beg to be penetrated anally, cunt," Oleg predicted. He pulled a remote control unit from a pocket in his olive drab uniform and set some controls. Then he depressed a key, causing a strong electric shock in Jess's vagina. She screamed loudly. Oleg laughed a wicked guffaw. 

"Ready for examination, cunt?" Oleg inquired. 

"Never, you horny old bastard, Jesse uttered, shaking from the jolt to her pussy. 

"I used to punch or kick girls in the crotch until they got their minds right," Oleg remarked. "Some girls took many blows. But with the remote control, it is only a matter of setting the right voltage and duration." Oleg upped the voltage and shortened the pulse. He shocked Jesse again. 

Jesse screamed. "Go ahead." 

Oleg smiled. "Where's the 'P-word, girl?" 

"Dammit, Please," Jesse murmured. 

Oleg placed his middle finger atop his index finger and shoved the pair into Jesse's rectum. She gasped and cursed. 

Oleg spent much time inserting and removing his fingers. He aligned them side-by-side and stretched, dilated Jesse's anus. He felt her inner organs and pressed cruelly against her left ovary. Jesse cried salty, wet tears when her ovary was pressed and pushed. 

"I could do this all day," Oleg said. "And maybe some day soon I will. But not today." Oleg curled his fingers and pulled back hard against Jesse's anal sphincters. He jerked his fingers out with a wet "pop." He removed the green latex gloves and tossed them aside. "You will learn to be my urinal," he promised. Then walking in front of her, he unzipped his fly and urinated in Jesse's brunette hair, leaving her smelly and humiliated. 

"I'm not going to urinate in your hair, cunt," Oleg said. He stood before the girl, hogtied and on her belly and masturbated, fluxing a massive orgasm into her fine blonde hair. The cum drooled over her face. "Your mouth will be a pussy, girl, and you will swallow." 

Lisa was silent, fearful of the electric dildo in her vagina. He still administered an electric shock to Lisa, to ensure she understood the control over her that he possessed. 

Days passed and Oleg enjoyed putting the girls in bondage, forcing fellatio and sodomy, and watching them struggle to avoid the stupefying electric shock to their vaginas. He especially enjoyed abusing Jesse's left ovary. She would scream day after day, feeling the bruising and swelling. She begged and pleaded for her ovary, knowing it might rupture. She never knew such pain. Oleg pointed out that this was not easily seen or detected. But, when she was finally turned over as a sex slave, a penis in her vagina would be unbearably painful until her ovary recovered.



Lisa Ch. 01: The Escape



"That was so cool!" Cain exclaimed and gave Lisa a friendly jab to her shoulder.

"You lasted way longer than any of those cowboys did!" Marcus chimed in.

"Boys, don't encourage her," their mother said, in a stern voice. Lisa smiled at her brothers despite her mother's tone. 

"She's a cowboy alright," Jeffrey added. 

Lisa smiled when he winked at her. She hadn't climbed on the horse with any intentions other than to try something that looked fun, but her brothers were so proud of her, she couldn't help but be excited. She could tell by the look on her father's face, that he too was impressed, but trying hard to not show it. 

In fact, if her mother had been truly angry, she would be saying much more than she was. And, come to think of it, her mother kept looking out of the window of the limousine as they drove on. Lisa leaned forward for a better look ... it was true! Her mother was trying to stifle a smile.

'You're not really angry!" Lisa exclaimed. Unable to restrain herself any more, her mother out right laughed.

"And you accuse me of encouraging her!" Lisa's father joked.

"Admit it Mom," Jeffrey said, "when you realized it was Lisa on that horse, you loved it!"

"Now Jeffrey ... "

"Come on Sharon, who do you think you're kidding. You had the boys and Lisa on horses, skiis, water skiis, at shooting ranges, parachuting for Christ sakes, all before their 5th birthdays. I hardly think you were surprised to see Lisa on that horse ... and I think you were more tickled by it than all of us combined!" Her father said while laughing. 

Lisa loved that laugh. He often laughed that way when they did things together, whether it was speeding down a mountain side while skiing, or fixing the bathroom plumbing, it didn't seem to matter. She looked at her family around her. Her mother and father. Her oldest brother Jeffrey, at 22 years old, he was four years older than her. Cain, 21 years old, and Marcus 19 years old ... nothing made her happier than her family. She loved those faces, and it felt so good to see her parents laughing again. For the past few days they had been so serious, so nervous. 

Suddenly, something didn't feel right. Uneasiness began to grow in the pit of Lisa's stomach.

"Alright Jacob," Sharon gave in, hands raised in surrender, "but just because I believe in letting my children experience a wide range of activities doesn't mean I want my child to be trampled by a wild horse." A giggle escaped her. "But did you see the faces on those people?" she demanded. "Those ranch hands couldn't stay on that horse for more than a couple of seconds. Lisa ... you did just as well as they did! But whatever possessed you to do it?" 

Lisa shrugged, confused by the dread that was beginning to grow in her.

"It looked like fun," she replied. 

"Like fun!" Jeffrey repeated, "It looked freakin' terrifying!" 

"Language Jeffrey ... " Their mother said wagging her finger at him.

There was something wrong ... something about this moment with her family seemed so familiar, like it had happened before. 

"Lisa, you have to stop and think sometimes," her mother continued. "You can't just do everything on impulse. It's going to get you in trouble some time."

"You're mother is right Lisa ..." her father began, just like she knew he would, and not just because he always did. This had happened before. 

"Dad, "she said, suddenly grasping her father's hand, and then her mother's. "Are we safe now? Is it all over?" Suddenly the smiles were gone from her parents' faces. Jeffery, Cain and Marcus all looked at their parents expectantly.

"Not yet," their mother replied, squeezing Lisa's hand in hers. "We're safe with Wesley driving, and some of Mommy and Daddy's friends protecting us ... " she nodded her head at the back window, where a grey sedan followed close behind their car, and to the front, where a cream colored station wagon led the way. "It won't be long, don't worry."

"Besides, Mom and Dad have their guns ... If anything happens they'll take care of it ... hey with all the targets you've been hitting at the range ... you could take care of it for us," Jeffrey added with a wink. 

Lisa began to shake her head ... it wasn't true. She couldn't take care of them! 

She looked out of the window and saw the beginning of a curve in the road. Something awful was going to happen!

"Stop!" she yelled.

"Lisa, what is it?" her mother asked.

"Stop the car ... please!"

Lisa threw off her seatbelt, and scrambled to the window that separated them from the driver and pounded on it. 

"Wesley stop! Stop the car!"

"Lisa ... sit down!" she heard her father's voice say from behind her.

Gun fire erupted from outside the car.

"No! No! No!" Lisa yelled, turning she saw the bodies of her parents, Marcus and Cain tossed around the car like rag dolls.

"Shoot Lisa!" Jeffrey was yelling. Lisa looked down to her hands. She was holding her mother's gun. She knew she'd picked it up, and she knew she wouldn't use it. "You can do it Lisa, shoot!" And then there was a sickening thump and Jeffrey's head seemed to explode.

"No!" she screamed and sat up. 

A searing pain shot up her arm, and she threw herself back to relieve it. The handcuff chafed her wrist, and she felt her head hit the headboard. It dazed her for a moment, but then terror pulled her through.

"What the ..." a groggy voice said from beside her. She thrashed her body until the heavy arm that lay across her disappeared.

"Mommy! Daddy! Jeffrey! Cain! Marcus! Come back ... please, come back!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. A hand pressed down on her mouth and a heavy body rolled on top of her.

"Shut up Jessica!" a voice hissed, and she recognized it as Angus'. 

A whole new sense of horror consumed her. Angus. She was in his room, in his bed. She'd been used already, she remembered now ... she could feel the burning between her legs. 

It was something they'd started doing in the past few months ... she had thought they'd been cruel all along, she hadn't realized how much worse it could get. 

Lisa had thought that their insistence on changing her name from Lisa to Jessica, and treating her like an animal by tying her to a leash, had taken her to the limits of her humiliation. 

But she'd been wrong. 

None of the mind games, beatings, verbal assaults and intimidations could match the violation she felt when they began to use her body for their enjoyment.

Now Lisa felt the terror grow. Angus would be mad at her for dreaming again ... she should have been quieter. He'd use this as an excuse to abuse her again. 

Damn him, and damn the others. She thrashed beneath his weight and tried to strike at him with everything she had available to her, but her arms and legs were pinned beneath his body, his hand held her head down. 

'God damn her!' Angus thought as he tried to hold her still. Why couldn't she just hurry up and learn her place? Despite being awoken from a deep sleep, he had enough of his wits about him to realize that he'd been hugging her. And it had felt good. 

That bitch Beth had been his first and only girlfriend. Once she was gone, he had experienced a few years of lonely existence. 

Yes, he had the men Riley, Josh, Scott, Jim, and Kevin when he got out of prison ... practically brothers. But no one to share his bed. No one to be his. He knew now without a doubt that he should have listened to his father's advice about women. If he'd ruled Beth with the same iron fist that his father had ruled his mother ... but then there was the irony of it all. In the end it hadn't turned out so well for his father.

But Jessica was going to be different. From the moment she'd come to them, he had ruled her firmly. Riley's general directive of making her pay for her family's sins making the perfect excuse for Angus to discipline her. 

But then Riley had made an even better decision. 

And it had brought Jessica to Angus' bed. There he could work out his frustrations. 

His frustrations with Beth, his mother, Jessica's continued and increasingly forceful retaliation strikes. He knew Jessica's existence was sure to be short lived. Once she was broken, Riley was going to kill her. That was fairly certain. But, deep down, he wanted Jessica. 

He wanted her to be his the way that Beth had never been. Now he was beginning to have serious doubts about whether she could ever be broken. It had been nearly a year already and he hadn't seen even so much as a hint that she was going to give in ... that they were going to win.

Angus tightened his hold on Jessica as he felt her try to move again. Why couldn't she just sleep through the damn night? Give him the chance to hold her the way he wanted, just for one fucking night. 

He exhaled as he prepared to say the words that he knew would ruin the night even more. Personally, he'd rather just discipline her, fuck her, and go back to sleep. But Riley'd been quite clear about using Jessica's emotional pain about her family's death as a weapon against her. 

"They're dead Jessica. All dead, even that bag of shit uncle of yours." Well that wasn't entirely true. Her Godfather, whom Jessica referred to as an uncle had actually survived the attack but gone into hiding. That didn't matter ... if she thought he was dead, so much the better. "They're gone. But you're left, left to atone for their sins."

The men had grown up together, in a close knit group of families who held one unshakable belief ... and that was, that government had no place in their lives. Their ancestors had been confederate soldiers, plantation owners, rebels. 

No one, and particularly not any northern, bleeding heart, Yankee government, could tell them what guns, land, and people they could own. 

From the moment they were born, the men learned that the government was their enemy, and that anything and everything had to be done to stop them from infringing on their God given rights. And their ancestors, parents, and friends did what they had to, to strike back at their oppressors. 

Collectively, this group of families called themselves 'The Clan'. To reduce the possibility of detection, they broke up into cells, each cell worked in concert with the others. The men's families had formed a cell together. The clan had always been persecuted. 

One enemy that turned out to be incredibly effective, was an overly zealous District Attorney, and his equally zealous wife. She was the governor of the state. With all of the power of the state and federal government at their disposal they launched an all out war on the clan. Little by little they destroyed the group. Riley's father, Angus' brother, Josh's parents, Jimmy's cousin, Scott's two uncles, all ended-up in prison. 

His wife already dead, Riley's father had taken his own life. Mysterious 'accidents' killed off the other imprisoned clan members. 

The men had decided to fight back. They attacked the district attorney, his wife and the family. But somehow Jessica had survived the attack. So the men brought home a prize and a new plan. It was simple, make the child of their enemy suffer, break her spirit, make her yield to their every command, and through her humiliation have her repay the debt that her parents owed. They had expected to eventually kill her, let her parents spin around in their graves. But taking Jessica home had its consequences. 

Other family groupings within the clan had taken issue with the fact that the men had taken a prisoner. They demanded that she be released, or killed, immediately. They argued that she was a liability. Neither option was acceptable to the men. So, they distanced themselves from the clan. They made it very clear that the members of the clan, were no longer welcome at their home, neither personally or professionally. All business was to be conducted at a neutral site. 

So, not only did they lose their family, but even their remaining friends. Just remembering what her parents had done to the clan made his blood boil.

"And do you know what Jessica ... when you atone for their sins, I get my rocks off!"

She bit down hard on his hand.

"Damn it!" Angus mumbled. He pushed himself up onto his knees, straddling her. "A fucking year later and you still haven't learned a thing!" He muttered. 

She tried to roll over and curl into a ball. The handcuff chafed her left wrist. She shivered. 

"Don't think so," he said as he grabbed her arm and tried to turn her onto her back. She fought as much as she could, but he soon pinned her right arm above her head, forced himself between her legs and rammed his way into her as forcefully as he could.

The physical assault over, Angus slid off of her. She rolled onto her side again, drew her legs to her chest and waited for the verbal assault that always followed. She closed her eyes and waited to hear all of the cruel things he'd say about her family, about her, but it never came. 

Something soft dropped onto her and she flinched before she realized that it was a blanket. She welcomed the warmth, but she couldn't accept it. If she accepted this ... they would win. He would win. Out of the five of them, she hated Angus the most. The feeling seemed to be mutual, and as she kicked the blanket off, she prepared herself for his wrath.

Why couldn't she just be weak like the rest of them? Angus wondered. His mother had folded with far less than this. A mere threat to go to jail had made it alright for her to sell her friends and family down the river. And Beth. 

He didn't know who was worse, his chicken shit mother or his two timing whore of an ex-girlfriend. Angus flinched as a memory he thought he'd pushed from his mind for good, came back in vivid detail. Beth, with her ultimate betrayal ... a betrayal that made cheating on him pale in comparison by so much that it was practically meaningless.

He now knew the answer. Between Beth and his mom, Beth was by far the worse. 

He pushed it from memory. He would not think of it again! He felt like vomiting. He was just relieved that only a few people knew the details of what Beth had done. He wouldn't have been able to handle the humiliation of others knowing.

But he could make himself feel better. He could drive the humiliation away by taking all his anger out on Jessica.

"Suit yourself," he said. The contempt in his voice made every hair on her body stand on end. "But I think you know what you'll have to do to get it back ..." He ran his hand along the back of her leg. 

She moved her leg. He grabbed her ankle, she jerked it away. As he flipped Jessica onto her back and dragged her toward him by her ankles, Lisa knew by the look on Angus' face that resistance was futile. But she didn't care. She had to find a way, but how? He held her legs firmly in his hands, her hands were bound by handcuffs. Her father's words to her, the words that had sustained her through this all, came back to her. 'Remember Tiger, in everything, there is an opportunity, it's up to you to find it.'. 

She brought her head back and saw blood flowing from his nose. He looked surprised for only a moment. She barely noticed the throbbing in her forehead ... she'd used it often enough now to defend herself, but she still hadn't gotten used to the stars and pain that accompanied the punches Angus landed on her face. She lay dazed and barely felt Angus' thrusts into her. She felt proud of herself. She had made him bleed, and the more she could hurt him and the others, the more she lived up to the vow she had made to her family when she'd first come to this God forsaken place. 

A pang of guilt nearly brought her to tears. In her mind's eye, she could see Jeffrey's face again as he was yelling "Shoot ... Lisa, shoot!" Ten out of the eighteen years of her life at that point had been spent on the firing range, she knew guns like she knew her own hands, but when it had been most important, she had failed. 

In the next instant, her brother was dead. They were all dead. Everyone but her, and she had let it happen. 

When her family's killers had brought her back here, she had vowed to get even. Not only to relieve her guilt, but she had known about these kinds of people for her whole life. Her parents had told her and her brothers over and over again that the people who would use terror to hold a nation captive, needed to be dealt with swiftly and forcefully. Her parents had made it their life work to do just that, and died because of it. The least she could do was to see their crusade completed. Guilt was quickly replaced with frustration. She had failed in her goal. She had been in this awful place, with these awful men, for the past year. And she had never escaped further then their front door, never harmed them more than some superficial wounds. As Angus rolled off of her and shoved her to the side, she turned on her side and pulled her knees to her chest again. She closed her eyes and cringed. Something had to change. She had to try something new, but she couldn't think what that would be.

"I bet they're rolling over in their graves right now," Angus said from beside her and laughed. "I thought that killing your asshole parents would be the best feeling ever ..." he continued, "but you ... " he said rolling her onto her back and taking her breast in his hand, "you're a gift that keeps on giving." 

She hated him. If she had a gun right then, she would not hesitate to blow his head off. For the moment she had to settle for something much more benign. She summoned up as much phlegm as she could and took aim. She was pleased to see it hit him square in the face. 

"You little ...!" he yelled as it splattered over his face. He clenched his fist around her breast and was rewarded with her scream. "This is going to be a long night Princess ... hope you've caught up on your zzzs ...".

Jimmy choked as coffee came out his nose. Angus had dragged, what looked like a car crash survivor, into the living room on the harness and leash. She sank to the floor cautiously, as if every bit of her hurt. If the rest of her body looked like her face ... which he was sure it did ... she must have spent the night as Angus' punching bag, again.

Despite the fact that she went out of her way to egg Angus on, he hadn't beaten her this badly in a while. When he saw Angus' face, he knew why. His nose was swollen and a large gash swallowed its bridge. Jimmy felt his heart sink. There had been a week or two of relative calm ... blissful calm. He no longer had the stomach for the constant fighting, crying. He saw the same stunned looks on Scott and Josh's faces. They sat around the table with him. 

"Rough night?" Riley asked Angus as he closed the basement door behind him and stood looking at Jessica. 

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep. I think I wore her down a little for you though ... I doubt she'll be spitting on you much tonight. Hey Jessica ... will you?" he sneered at Jessica and tugged on her leash. She flinched, but Riley wasn't sure if it was from the pain or her continued defiance over the name they'd given her. She knew now that it was in her best interest to respond to the name Jessica, but she certainly didn't like it.

"Spat at you ... " Riley said more to himself than Angus. He stared at her bowed head. Well, the girl had gumption. She had yet to win the war, but she had won a few battles. Her victories had always been short lived ... revenge was the name of their game, and it was revenge they always got ... but he had to give her credit for never caving under it. Well, maybe this time she would. 

"Riley ... " Jim interrupted. He had been watching Jessica and saw in her expression something he knew all too well. It made his blood run cold. For the first time ever, she looked dejected. He had become an expert at reading that look, telling when people had reached the end of their rope . He'd missed it with his sister ... recognizing it for what it was only after she'd killed herself, but he learned quickly to see it in the enemies that he and the men broke. It signaled the time that they would have their final victory ... the enemy left in a room with a handgun and a single bullet ... that wasn't something he wanted Jessica to do. He liked her. And although the others didn't admit it, even to themselves, they liked her to. They'd kidnapped many enemies over the years, and none of them had stayed with them for more than a few days. None of them had so much as sneezed in Angus' direction without getting a bullet to the head. Even before he began having sex with Jessica, Angus had not killed Jessica ... to Jim that spoke volumes. 




Lisa Ch. 01: The Escape



"Maybe spending the day in the corner will do her some good, " Riley said. He knew that she hated that corner, and being so sore, hanging from a hook all day would teach her not to provoke Angus anymore.

Jim was about to argue, but once Riley had spoken, Jessica's usual anger and defiance returned to her face. He felt relief, but only momentarily. How long would it be before they really broke her ... and then what. He had to find a way to broker a truce with Jessica. He looked at Scott and Josh. They sat watching Jessica and it was obvious from their expressions that they felt sorry for her. They would never intervene on her behalf ... Jim had never either, but with a little prompting, they would. With them on Jessica's side, Riley and Angus would follow, he was sure of it. 

"Maybe she should be naked in the corner ... " Angus added, and laughed when Jessica scrambled to her feet, prepared to fight off any advances.

"Jesus Angus!" Josh muttered. Angus was always threatening to make her walk around naked. It was little wonder Jessica went out of her way to break Angus' nose whenever she could.

"You willing to try and undress her?" Scott asked not interested in going into battle with her himself at the moment.

"Sounds like a challenge," Angus said stepping toward Jessica.

"The corner will do, "Riley interrupted. 

"Come on Princess," Angus said tugging on her leash. Jessica leaned back against the harness and dug in her heels.

"I'll do it," Jim said to Angus while holding his hand out for the leash, "have some breakfast."

Angus hesitated not sure that he wanted to pass on the opportunity to show Jessica who was boss. But hell, he'd done nothing but that the night before.

"Knock yourself out Jimbo," Angus said handing the leash to Jim, "watch your nose though, she's fast with her head."

Jim took the leash. 

"Have fun, hanging around," Angus said to Jessica as he passed her on his way to the kitchen. 

Scott and Josh put their dishes on the counter and headed out the front door to begin feeding the horses. Neither one of them could look at Jessica. Jessica had spat at them plenty of times and she'd never ended up looking like that. Angus was a hard man, that was not news to them, but ever since Jessica had come into their lives they had seen first hand just how brutal he could actually be. At a not so deep level, Angus scared the crap out of them. They couldn't believe that Jessica persistently challenged him like she did. In her attempts to escape, Jessica was as equally brutal as Angus. And though they'd never admit it, they were afraid of her too.

"You gonna watch over her?" Riley asked Jim.

"Yup." Jim replied.

"Alright, I've got business in town. When you're done hanging her up, can you check out my rifle? Something seems off. " Riley asked.

"Sure," Jim said. "Delivering those pups?" he asked.

Riley nodded. "I won't be long." 

The men all had specific responsibilities within the group, some of which involved contact with outsiders. They used assumed names and the contact was little more than pick-ups and drop-offs, but it was something that helped ease the isolation. Jim and Josh help Scott break-in and breed horses, using their horse trailer to haul prize studs to clients' ranches. Jim was in charge of keeping their weapons cleaned and serviced. 

Riley trains dogs for the clan, and anyone else that needed guard, attack, or fighting dogs. He had twenty kennels, five of which were filled with their own dogs, ten of which Riley usually filled with the dogs he was training, and five he kept as spares. They had a bitch at the moment, who had just had four to five pups. He was going to drop them off at the buyers' homes. They certainly couldn't come and pick them up. 

Angus, was the group's mechanic and handyman. He kept their cars running, overhauled old cars to replenish their needs, or those of the clan. Often if one of the other cells had a car problem, Angus would pick up the vehicle and bring it back to their house for maintenance. He refitted one of the five barns they had into a garage. And if anything ever broke, Angus was the one to fix it. Since the time that the men had attacked Jessica's family and chosen to keep Jessica, they lived together, alone, with her. Their contact with the outside world was limited to them going out into it. No one from the outside was ever permitted to come to them. Not even others in the clan. To ensure this, they chose to live in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town was one hundred miles away. 

Jim began to roll the leash over his hand, moving closer to Jessica as he did. 

Jessica twisted her body, fruitlessly trying to twist her way out of the harness that tied her to the leash.

"You hate this thing, don't you?" Jim asked letting the leash sag between them. "If you don't want me to drag you by it, you're going to have to walk over to the corner."

Jim took a step past her in the direction of the corner with the hook in the ceiling. She didn't move. 

"One way or another, you're going to hang from that hook Jessica," Jim said, she cringed at the name he'd used. "You can avoid the humiliation of me dragging you by the leash. I'm counting to three ... one, two ... " 

Jessica began to move toward the corner. Once there Jimmy pulled a set of handcuffs from his pocket. "Put your hands out," Jim said. Jessica didn't move. Well, he supposed that was too much to ask for.

"Need some help there Jimboy?" Angus demanded from the dining room table.

Jessica tensed, and stuck her hands out before her.

"Didn't think so," Angus added as Jim cuffed her wrists. Raising her hands above her head, he lifted her up and hooked the cuffs to the hook. Jim stepped back, and Jessica dangled from the hook. She grunted, but stubbornly refused to cry out. Looking over his shoulder, Jim saw that Angus had turned his attention from them, to his food. Jim leaned closer to Jessica and whispered,

"If you hate the leash and harness so much, why don't you do something to get out of them?" Jessica looked startled. "If you stop making us use them to drag you from place to place ... stay where we put you, I think I can convince the others to remove them. But it's up to you. Think about it." And Jim walked away. He dropped onto the sofa, picked up the book he'd been reading earlier, and began to read.

Jessica felt a searing, burning pain shooting through her arms, her back. As was her usual tactic, she searched for something to think about that would distract her from the pain. Jim's suggestion about the leash and harness was just the thing to do it. 

She never knew quite how to take him. He'd never touched her sexually, but then, neither had Riley. But there was something else. He was always whispering to her, suggesting ways that she could possibly be happier ... or depending on how you looked at it, ways that she could submit to them. She did hate that damn harness and leash though. Long before the sexual abuse, this had been her first devastating humiliation. It was true that by going where these men directed her was a form of obedience ... but if it got them to remove the harness and leash, it was also a step closer to escape. 

She decided then, that she would do it. Images of the bodies of her parents and brothers returned. 'I'm sorry,' she mentally said to the crumpled bodies. Jessica stifled a sob. She wanted nothing more than to feel her mother's arms around her again ... to bury her face into her father's chest. 

Would they forgive her for the concessions she was about to make?

Twelve hours later, an eternity to Jessica, Jessica couldn't feel her arms any more. Riley was leading her to his room. As they walked Jessica hoped to feel the tingling sensation that accompanied the return of the blood to her arms, but it wasn't coming.

She stifled a groan when Riley led her to the corner in his room. She looked at the hook with a feeling of dread but she steeled herself against it. Under no circumstances was she going to let Riley know how she felt.

"Maybe spending the night in the corner will make you think twice about spitting at us," Riley said after hoisting her onto the hook. He stepped back and dropped onto his bed. He stole a look at Jessica hoping for some indication that she was getting the message, for some indication that she was at least a little bit sorry for her actions. 

'Damn it!' he cursed under his breath. Jessica hung on the hook undoubtedly as uncomfortable as she'd been all day in the corner of the living room, yet she didn't look the least bit sorry. In fact she seemed her usual smug self. 

Riley lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was mostly his fault, he supposed. It'd been his idea to abuse her sexually, and yet, he couldn't do it. He knew Angus was following the plan... he wasn't sure about the others. 

But they were decent men. Too decent for this kind of behavior. 

Maybe he should've been happy to know that at least in this respect, he was decent also. But he wasn't happy. Not at all. 

For the past year they'd gotten nowhere with her and he was no longer sure what the goal was. 

They had started out to humiliate her, to use that humiliation to cause suffering for her parents, somewhere in the afterlife. But for every bit of humiliation she was supposed to feel, she had caused them a humiliation. 

He had never seen anything like that before. 

He couldn't help but wonder if they should just kill her and be done with it. But somehow that didn't seem a satisfying end to the situation. 

Riley exhaled. 

For the first time he allowed himself to ponder the thought that had been in the back of his mind for the past few months. He hadn't allowed himself to think about it ... but it was there and now he was willing to acknowledge it because it spoke to this situation. 

He wondered how much of the dissatisfaction that would come from killing her would be due to the fact that they had not got their way, and how much of it came from the fact that Jessica was ... Jessica? 

She was stubborn, tough, brave, and ... female. 

For a group of men that very fact was appealing. She was female and she was their prisoner. She had no rights. No choice to leave them. She was theirs. And that's what bothered Riley. 

The oldest of the men, at 25 years old, Riley wanted her. Not sexually so much, but ... he hated to admit it, emotionally. And, although not quite old enough to be her father in years, emotionally he felt twice his age. And therefore, old enough to be her father. 

Riley had dated before. Had had a few relationships, but nothing that could have been considered serious. There were too many variables, to many unknowns in relationships to make it worth the emotional effort. He saw what Angus' relationship with Beth had done to him. He could hardly consider his parents' relationship as a model of what he strove for. They had stayed together until the end, but it was not clear to Riley whether they had truly loved on another. 

Riley shook his head. His parents had to have loved one another. His father always watched out for his mother's best interests. Making sure she didn't step out of line, behaved herself. And he still remembered the grumbling his father did about Jimmy's sister and the ways Jimmy's father was handling her. His father had made it clear that she was being given too much leeway, not being put in her place. And then she'd killed herself, so Riley supposed his father had been right.

From that time on, it had seemed easier to deal with dogs. Dogs obeyed. Even the most difficult ones did eventually. They rarely tried to exert free will. So why couldn't females do the same thing? Every woman he'd had contact with had some level of free will, but when tamed they eventually fell in line. Except, it seemed, Jessica.

Riley slid his eyes over to watch her hanging, stoic expression on her face, in the corner. He used to want to break her so that it could be a strike against his enemies. So he could feel the pleasure of victory. But now he wanted to make her conform to the role of a potential mate. He still felt too old for her. Right now. But in a few years ... she'd be good for him and the men. But how to get there? Everything he'd thought of so far had failed. 

"Riley!" Jimmy's voice was behind his door, accompanied by an urgent knock. "Open up!"

"What is it?" Riley asked, instinctively reaching for the handgun tucked in the waist of his pants at the small of his back. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as the possibilities ran through his mind. Were the cops here? Was what he dreaded the most finally going to happen? Relief flooded over him when he saw that Jim did not have his gun.

"We've had contact ... you and Angus need to go meet the others. Something has happened."

"Now?" Riley asked, poking his head into the hall and looking for Angus, or any of the other men who could offer an explanation. But the hallway was empty.

"Yes." Jim replied. "I won the draw. I'll take Jessica to my room."

"Right, okay." Riley said moving back to allow Jimmy to enter. 

Jim stifled a curse. What the hell was Riley doing, hanging Jessica back on a hook? Had he intended to leave her there all night? By then, her arms would fall off, Christ! 

Jim lifted her off the hook, and then took her hands in his. They were ice cold, and blue. For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of relief behind Jessica's mask of defiance, but then it was gone and she went back to pretending he wasn't there and that hanging by her arms for 12 hours was nothing more than a day at the beach. For a girl, she had a lot of balls.

"Angus is waiting in the car," Jim continued as he led Jessica from Riley's room. Funny that she wasn't resisting that too much.

"Got it," Riley said, following them into the hall. "See yah."

"Later ... good luck," Jim said. 

In his room he stood facing Jessica.

"Bed or floor?" he asked, as he always did when he had his night with her.

Jessica nodded at the floor, as she always did. 

Jim sighed. She never took the easy way out. 

He pulled her to a spot on the floor next to his bed. Pulling the cuff keys, he undid her hands, looped the cuffs through the hook on his bedpost, and re-cuffed her. He caught her hands as she started to pull them away, and inspected them again.

"They're going to hurt like hell when the blood comes back," he said. She stared at him, attempting to shoot darts of defiance at him with her eyes. "I can rub them for you, help bring the circulation back faster. All you have to do is ask."

Jessica's expression didn't change. 

"Suit yourself." He replied and let her hands drop. 

He sat on his bed and debated what to do. He'd planned on playing his guitar tonight. He tried to play whenever he didn't have her with him. On his usual nights with her, he would spend the time having a staring contest with her. The challenge was to see who would look away first. They were equally matched for the contest and usually by the time he was too tired to keep it up it'd been hours before either one looked away. 

One thing he knew for sure, Jessica was determined. That determination caused him some concern when he had her in his room for the night. Though she was chained and could not conceivably do anything of harm to him ... he couldn't relax enough to do anything but hold the staring contest with her. 

Often a one way conversation accompanied the contest and he found himself blabbing to her about things that he didn't talk to anyone about, and she most assuredly cared little about, in hopes of getting some response from her. But he rarely got one, just a determined, angry stare. 

Well. Tonight her arms were like rubber, and in a matter of minutes she would be in indescribable pain as the blood made its way back to her extremities. There was little she could do to him tonight, even if she weren't chained. He went to his closet and retrieved his guitar. When he turned back, Jessica was staring off into a corner of his room. He sat on his bed and began to play. 

Jessica leaned her head against the wall and sighed in relief. Thank God she was going to spend the night here instead of Riley's room. Of all the men, Jimmy was the easiest to tolerate. He rarely bothered with her when they were alone. 

She gritted her teeth. Her arms began to tingle. This was going to hurt. It wasn't the first time she had to endure this pain, but at least Jimmy would leave her alone, not needle her with verbal abuse, or find some way to make the pain worse. All she had to do was concentrate on the corner of his bedroom and clear her mind, and this could be an okay night. 

But suddenly, she heard a sound that she hadn't heard in what seemed an eternity. Without thinking, she looked over at Jim. He sat on his bed, rocking back and forth, watching his fingers move back on forth on the neck of his guitar. Music! She could hardly believe it. 

For a moment she forgot where she was, forgot the pain that was building in her arms. She knew how to make those sounds too, she had played the guitar with a passion at home. She even recognized the song. 

A noise broke through Jim's concentration, and it brought him back to reality. He'd forgotten that Jessica was in the room with him. He looked over at her and she was looking at him. She was looking at him and kind of smiling. 

Jim stopped playing. Smiling? Yes, she was smiling, and swaying slightly, and there was that noise again. It was low but definitely coming from Jessica. Jim leaned closer. She was humming. He recognized the tune that he'd been playing. Suddenly Jessica realized what she'd been doing and jumped as if she'd been slapped. She sat staring at him, and he stared at her. Jessica's gaze slid down to Jim's guitar, and he followed it.

"Do you ... you know the song?" Jim asked.

Jessica nodded, still staring at his guitar.

"Do you want me to keep playing?"

Jessica nodded again. 

Jim couldn't believe it. All of these months of getting nowhere, and it turns out that his biggest passion could get a positive response from Jessica? 

Without hesitation, Jim began playing again. Jessica closed her eyes and swayed. Jim could tell by some of the contortions on her face that her arms were killing her, but Jessica never stopped her swaying. Jim played song after song, and Jessica swayed. He was able to tell exactly when her pain subsided, because her facial contortions were replaced by a look of serenity. 

That was something he had never seen before. It wasn't until Jessica fell gently against the bedpost, asleep, that Jim stopped playing. He looked at the clock. Two hours. He had played, and she had swayed, for two hours. 

He put his guitar away, turned out the light, and lay back on his bed. Despite how tired he was, excitement coursed through him. For the first time since Jessica had come here, Jim felt hope. Hope that things were going to get better. The constant tension and hatred emanating around them all of the time was beginning to wear on him. He lay thinking of ways to use the music to his advantage. To use it to broker a truce of some kind. He drifted off to sleep with the sweet image of Jessica singing, and laughing. No traces of hatred left on her face.

The next morning Jim stretched, yawned, and rolled to the side of the bed that Jessica was cuffed to. He found her already awake and staring at the ceiling.

His standard greeting of "Morning," was met with Jessica's standard silence. He sat up. "How're your arms?"

Jessica continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Jessica," Jim said, "Hey, Jessica," he said snapping his fingers in her line of sight.

Jessica slowly swung her eyes onto Jim. Gone was the dreamy look she'd had the night before.

"My name, " she said through clenched teeth, "is Lisa." 




Lisa Ch. 01: The Escape



Jim sighed and slid onto the floor. He crouched before her.

"Look, I know that. I know your name is Lisa, you know your name is Lisa, Riley, Angus, Josh and Scott know your name is Lisa. But that doesn't mean anything. We're calling you Jessica. This has been going on forever and getting you nowhere. Why don't you do us all a favor and just pretend that your name is Jessica. It's really not that hard." 

Suddenly, they were back to the staring contest. 

"Like I told you yesterday, the leash, the handcuffs, the abuse, all that unpleasantness could disappear, like that ..." he said snapping his fingers again, "if you'd just play along."

"What about my family?" Jessica demanded, "will the bullets that ripped their bodies apart suddenly disappear? Will they suddenly come back to life, and will I suddenly be home?"

It was Jim's turn to lose the contest. He lowered his eyes, his head. Silence hung in the air.

"No, Jessica. None of that will happen." He forced his eyes back up to meet hers. He had a sudden image of her spitting at him, but she only sat staring back at him. Her hazel eyes should have been easy to look into, but the anger and hatred he found in them made it anything but easy to maintain eye contact.

"Look. I can't change the past, but I can play the guitar again for you. Would you like that?"

This time Jessica broke eye contact and turned her face away from him.

"Maybe next time then." Jim said. "If you'd like, I can play my guitar for you every time you're here with me. All I ask is that you stop fighting the name, and you stop fighting the leash. At least with me. Just show me some good will. Okay?"

Silence ensued, but Jessica had momentarily looked at him from the corner of her eye. Well, that was something. He didn't know what, but something.

"Alright then. Let's get on with the day. Shower time." Jim got up and went to his chest of drawers and began searching for fresh clothing both for him and for Jessica. Even though the men weren't willing to follow Angus' suggestions of letting Jessica walk around naked, neither were they willing to invest in any clothing for her. She wore the mens' clothes ... all way to large. 

Jessica snuck a look at him while his back was to her. The words "good will" echoed through her mind. She really didn't know what to make of him. Who the hell used words like "good will", especially in this kind of situation? She couldn't picture Josh or Scott using them, and certainly not Riley or Angus. Just Jim. He turned and smiled when he saw her watching him. Jessica snapped her head down. 

"Let's go," he said unlocking her cuffs. When she stood, he hooked the leash onto the harness that remained on her body almost 24 hours a day. He walked away from her until the leash went taut, inches from the bedroom door. He stopped and waited. Not knowing why exactly, Jessica took a step forward. And then another. Jim exhaled, having inadvertently held his breath.

In the bathroom, Jim started the shower. Stepping back from the stall, he held the shower curtain open he said, "Ladies first". Jessica turned her back to him and began to undress. That was something else. Jim was the only one who let her turn her back to him to undress. Jim was the only one that let her undress herself. In fact, Jim was the only one who let her shower by herself. 

She began to skirt him, back to him, on her way to the shower, but as she looked over her shoulder, she noticed that he was looking away. No lurid leering with Jim either. As the hot water fell on her, she recalled the conclusion she'd come to the previous day, about the leash. She wasn't sure that she could stand to give in to the others, particularly not those bastards, Riley and Angus. But, she could try for Jim. 

"Done?" Jim asked after a few minutes. Jessica peeked around the shower curtain. Jim held a towel out to her. She wrapped it around herself and got out of the shower stall. Jim waited for her to dry and dress. He hooked the leash to the bathroom ceiling hook, turned his back on her and undressed. In the shower, he whistled. He was whistling the tune of one of the songs that he'd played the night before on his guitar. 

Jessica sat and listened. The songs brought her back to a much happier time. She closed her eyes and listened. All she needed was to get off that damned leash, then she could get away for good. Jim didn't look out of the shower once. If she were off the leash now, she could just slip out, somehow get to the front door, and run. That's all she wanted to do. Run. 

Josh paced the small floor space before his bed. Tonight it would be easier to control himself than other nights. Jessica's bruised and battered body wasn't as appealing to touch as it was otherwise. He looked at Jessica, lying on his bed, hands cuffed above her head, spread eagle with each foot cuffed to a bed post. She was fully clothed. He found that she got less upset that way. She was staring at the ceiling, holding her breath undoubtedly, her chest wasn't moving. He dreaded these nights because it took every bit of energy he had to control himself. He winced as he remembered the first night he'd had with her after Riley had told the men to start having sex with her. He hadn't intended to go all the way. A little petting maybe, but once he'd started, he couldn't stop. She'd cried. 

Josh felt sick to his stomach as he remembered the hysteria with which she'd reacted. It was worse than any break downs she'd had to that point. 

Since that night, he's worked hard to restrain himself and take it slow. He decided to work his way down her body, not moving to the next body part until he could touch the previous one without her crying. He'd promised her not to go all the way until she felt comfortable. It was a difficult promise to keep. Every night ended with him feeling like he'd been kicked in the balls. With a final resolution to restrict himself to touching only, Josh climbed on the bed and lay down beside Jessica.

"Just relax," he said sliding his hand under her shirt and seeking a breast. "Let yourself enjoy this." His voice was low, guttural, his breath hot on her cheek, whispering while pulling gently on her nipple.

Jessica didn't even bother trying to fight. She needed her energy for later. She didn't know why he bothered with these pretexts every time she was with him. He'd spend half an hour to an hour with these ridiculous games at the beginning of every night. 

But then later, once she had fallen asleep, he'd rape her anyway. And no matter how much she fought or cried, he'd continue. The only consolation she had was that unlike Angus, Josh didn't seem to enjoy inflicting pain on her. He got his rocks off, turned over and went to sleep. 

'Good God.' Josh thought. He couldn't take this much longer. Her nipple had become erect, she was obviously enjoying it, but when he cupped her breast Jessica tried to pull away. He had to stop now, or he'd do something he didn't want to. 

"Good night Jessica," he said turning his back on her, switching off the light. He lay down, closed his eyes and fervently hoped sleep would come quickly.

In the living room the next morning Jessica fought to keep her eyes open. True to form Josh had made it a night of continuous assault. Unlike Angus who seemed to like a good pre-rape fight, Josh staked her out so she couldn't move. The best she could do was curse him in her mind as she lay helpless. 

She felt anger boiling within her. But despite that, she couldn't fight the fatigue that was coming over her. She exhaled and leaned her head back against the sofa. For the next little while anyway, she was safe. Riley and Angus seemed to be away still. Jim and Josh were out of the house, and the only one left was Scott. He was rummaging around in the kitchen, but even if he weren't distracted she had little to fear from him in terms of sexual assault. Much like Jim, Scott seemed to have no desire to torture her. He hated her, there was no doubt about that. He'd hurt her plenty over the months she'd been there, but never in that way. Jessica slid down on the sofa as sleep over took her.

Scott stood watching Jessica sleep. He held the tiny birth control pill in his hand. She needed her dose for the day, but it could wait. Especially now that she took it without a fight. Scott shook his head as he remembered the about face she'd done when Riley'd pointed out that if she didn't take the pill she'd end-up mothering their children. 

The look of revulsion on her face had left no doubt as to how much she truly hated them. Even Riley and Angus had been taken aback. 

Well, what did they expect? If there was one thing he knew, it was what it took to pleasure a woman. Nothing about their current situation lent itself to a pleasurable experience. The other men obviously had no problems forcing themselves on Jessica, but Scott wanted nothing of it. 

He had his share of women in town and within the clan that begged Scott to have sex with them. He smiled as he remembered one such event the previous night. With or without this pill, there was no way Jessica would be mothering his child. And thank God. No child deserved to be hated. He shuddered as he imagined the contempt that Jessica would have for a child of theirs.

Scott fell into the armchair across from the sofa where Jessica slept. She was pretty. Despite the bruises, swollen eye and lip, she was pretty. He was attracted to her, and in another place, another time, he would've done his all to pleasure her. And she would've wanted it. He was sure of that, as sure as he was that he had a nose on his face. He never met a woman he didn't please, never met a woman that didn't want him, until Jessica. 

Often he felt a longing to reach out to her, make her happy in ways he knew he could. But then he'd see how she felt toward him and he didn't know how to react to it. And then other times, like right now, all he felt for her was sympathy and respect. 

Sympathy for what her family's violent demise had done to her and what was now happening to her. Respect because she was the first female prisoner they'd ever taken but yet she seemed to be tougher then the men. They'd had many male prisoners over the years. And they all broke. Not always quickly. The one thing he could say for the clan's enemies was that they were not wimps. But within days and with torture much less intrusive then rape, they had broken. 

But here it was a year later, and she hadn't backed down. Not one iota. That took a strength beyond anything he thought a person would be capable of. 

"No," Jessica muttered in her sleep. "No!" she said more loudly and thrashed her head to the side. Her nightmares. When she slept, her subconscious betrayed her. 

Asleep, she was unable to hide the sadness, pain and fear. And her nightmares were something Scott couldn't stand to witness. Despite his hatred for her parents and all they stood for, he couldn't help but feel some guilt over what he and the men were doing to Jessica and her nightmares intensified his feeling of guilt. 

"Jessica," he said going over to her, and shaking her arm. "Jessica, wake up!"

Jessica snapped to attention on the couch, eyes unfocused, confusion on her face. 

"Jeffrey?" she asked, hope tingeing her voice. But then her eyes focused and the sight of Scott brought tears to her eyes.

"It's time for your pill," he said hating the obvious sadness that seeing him had brought her . This was all so alien to him. Even after all this time he couldn't get used to her hating him. Women loved him. He was a lover. Every fiber of his being made him want to kiss her mouth, make the frown turn into a smile ... pleasure her. But the daggers that she was shooting at him with her eyes dampened that fire pretty quickly. 

"Here," he said opening his hand that clutched the birth control pill. "Shit!" he said when his uncurled fingers revealed nothing but his palm. He turned to look behind him, it must have fallen when he stood up ... the tug at the back of his pants was followed by a wave of horror. An image of his handgun tucked in the back of his pants flashed through his mind as he pictured himself turning his back to her. He spun around and found Jessica pointing the gun at him, hatred etched in her face.

"This is for my family!" she yelled. The gun was pointed at his chest, right at his heart. But she couldn't do it. Not cold blooded murder. 

That surprised her. In that split second she shifted her aim off centre of his chest, and pulled the trigger. The gun exploded and Scott flew back as if a very strong wind had picked him up and flung him away from Jessica. He fell to the floor with a thud and didn't move.

Jessica's heart was pounding a mile a minute. He couldn't be dead, not where she'd shot him. But she'd hurt him, enough to give herself a chance to get away. Elation spread through her. Finally, she got a strike back for her family. Nothing could dampen that feeling, not even the sound of running feet outside. The others were coming, and they'd have their guns. She knew she didn't stand a chance. Her only hope had been if she'd had time to get herself out of the damn harness. But she was tied to the sofa. They would gun her down. And though she had hoped to survive her ordeal here, the fact that she wouldn't didn't really bother her. She felt a smile take over her face as she raised her gun at the front door. She wondered how many she'd could take with her in the end. That wouldn't be cold blooded murder anymore, but self-defense.

She could hear footsteps coming up the front steps now. Who would be first through the door? She hoped, really hoped, it would be Angus. It was entirely possible that she wouldn't get more than one shot off, and if that were the case, she hoped she got one shot into Angus. For him, she'd aim right between the eyes. She pointed the gun at the front door, initially at chest level. She knew from what her parents had taught her, that it was best to aim for the chest. Head shots were hard if not nearly impossible to make. But despite what had been drilled into her she forced the nozzle of the hand gun up to head level. With chest shots, you were more certain to bring down the enemy but not as certain to kill them. Angus was a kind of evil that she had never known, really known, existed. But now that she knew, she didn't want to take a chance on merely maiming him. 

She waited a split second more, and then the door opened. She began to pull the trigger waiting to see that animal's face. But rather than Angus running through the door, it was Jimmy. 

Without thinking Jessica swung the gun an inch to the right and fired. She had no time to see where the bullet went because an arm came out from behind her and smashed the gun from her hands. Jessica had half a second to stare at the gun sliding across the floor, before the room spun by her in a blur. Suddenly Angus' furious face came into view. He must have come in the back door. Jessica had just enough time to curse herself for not thinking of the back door before Angus landed a punch on her left cheek that sent her flying. The impact of her body smashing into the wall forced the air to rush out of her lungs. As she sank to the floor she saw Angus stalking toward her. Tears burned her eyes. She had failed again. Not only was she going to die but she'd only managed to take one of these animals with her. Angus raised his fist and drove it into her face again. This time darkness took over the bright colors that had floated behind her eyes.

(To be continued ...)



Lisa Ch. 02



Mike and Lisa sat in front of the fire and talked about the day's events while enjoying a glass of wine. It had been several weeks since their first date wine tasting when they had tasted several California varieties as well as each other. Their respective jobs and the distance between their homes prevented frequent rendezvous'. They were both happy that it was finally Friday and they were able to coordinate their schedules to facilitate this get-together.

The wine was a 2008 Reserve Primitivo from one of their favorite California vineyards. It had been a limited but very popular, not to mention pricey, vintage. It was definitely a fine wine and one glass soon led to another and all too soon the bottle was empty.

Even though they were enjoying the wine, the warm fire was starting to die down and Mike knew if they stayed he would add more wood to the fire and open another bottle of wine. Instead he preferred to take Lisa to the bedroom and get her naked. He leaned in close and kissed her and said, "Let's go to bed and get warm Baby." 

Her hand slid up his leg to his crotch, she could feel his semi rigid shaft through his jeans. "Ooh, I think you're right, it will be warmer in bed," she agreed. "You take care of the fire and I'll turn down the bed."

It was dark in the bedroom, lit only by the full moon, but he could see by the moonlight that she was already in bed snuggled up under the covers. He got ready for bed, crawled in and moved closer to her.

"What's this?" he asked. "A flannel nightgown, I was hoping for a naked body, or at least something silky."

"Well, you're not exactly naked yourself," she laughed when she felt his erection rub against her through his bikini briefs.

"I know," he said, "It's cold in here, I wanted to get in bed next to you as soon as I possible. I'll take them off as soon as you get me warm."

She snuggled a little closer and let one hand slide down to his crotch. She started rubbing his cock through the briefs. "How's that?" She asked, kissing him as her hand continued working on his erection.

"Hmmm, I'm feeling warmer already Baby," he said. He hugged her and kissed her, tugging on her lower lip with his lips. The kiss went from playful to passionate as she kissed him back. He caressed her back through the flannel and kissed her again. His hand moved lower on her back. She responded favorably to the caresses on the small of her back, as he applied a little more pressure where he knew she liked it.

Lisa responded with kisses of her own, her hand reaching into his underwear and caressing his erection. Mike repositioned his body to enable her caresses. "Let me get these out of your way," he said, lifting his hips and pushing his briefs down to his knees.

Lisa stroked his unrestrained erection, "Oh yeah, that's much better."

He continued caressing her back moving down across her behind, stopping momentarily to squeeze a cheek. He found the bottom of her nightgown and the bare skin of her leg. He moved his hand back up her thigh under the nightgown. "Hey," he said, "you're naked under here," delighted to find that she had taken her panties off before getting into bed. His hand continued up to her back, making a circuit from waist to shoulder to waist, softly rubbing her soft skin feeling it start to warm up as he caressed her.

Mikes caresses moved from her back to her breasts. They were soft, full and warm. He loved to cup them and squeeze them gently. Her nipples always responded, becoming erect, which always encouraged him to keep going. "I want to suck on your nipples Lisa," he said softly, "let's get you naked." 

She stopped stroking him and sat up and pulled her nightgown over her head. 

"Damn!" he said, "what was I thinking, stopping you from what you were doing."

"Its okay," she answered as she lay back down, reaching for his cock "I remember where I left off."

Mike finished kicking off his underwear with his feet as she resumed her caresses.

His mouth found a breast and soon he was sucking on an erect nipple. He switched to the other breast while the fingers on his free hand kept the first nipple hard.

She was busy as well, working on his erection, lightly caressing and squeezing gently. She stroked it softly from his scrotum to the engorged head and back. 

"That feels marvelous Baby," he said. "Don't stop!"

He slid his hand down her soft stomach to her waist and beyond. When he felt her pubic hair he played with the soft curly patch, running his fingertips in circles, gently pulling on the hairs. "That reminds me" he said, "I've been meaning to ask you if I could shave your pubes."

"I think you just like playing with my pussy," she said, laughing again.

"Guilty as charged," Mike admitted. 

Mike's fingers were now probing between her legs. Lisa opened up in an enabling gesture as he gently spread her outer lips searching for the wetness he was sure was there. 

"You can coif my curlies anytime you want Mike," she said, enjoying his touch "except now, I wouldn't want to interrupt you."

With a little more probing his finger was wet with her juices. He knew he needed to go slow and be gentle but found it difficult to take his time when he was this turned on. Lisa's hands were working their magic, keeping him in a very excited state.

She was even wetter now, his middle finger probed in and out of her vagina gathering her wetness and moving the moisture to the spot that she referred to as 'this buds for you' on their first date. Having wet her clit sufficiently he began to slowly and methodically trace circles around it. Sometimes changing to an up and down sliding motion starting at the bottom of her slit and slowly moving up until his finger was in contact with the raised, firm bud. Lisa moaned at the contact with her clit, "Oh yeah, that feels nice Mike."

Mike continued to excite her, sucking on her erect nipples while fingering her pussy and keeping her clit wet. He could feel her tense up as her body started to build toward a release that he loved to help her attain. He pulled her even closer and kept up the stimulation as she started to tremble. He knew she was getting close, her clitoris had receded and he concentrated hard to keep his finger in the right place. A few more strokes and it was happening, he kept his finger pressing on her clit but as still as he could, knowing how sensitive she became once her orgasm started. As her body shook with pleasure Mike thrust his finger into her and cupped her vagina.

She finally moved his hand away from her pussy when her orgasm had loosened its grip on her. "I want you inside me Mike," she said.

Mike didn't waste any time getting between her legs. Lisa reached down and guided his cock into her pussy. "Oh yeah" she moaned, "you feel so good inside me."

"You feel pretty nice too," he replied, as he lay quietly on her, his hard-on into her completely "You're so hot and wet, I could stay inside you for hours."

Lisa clenched her vaginal muscles on Mike's erection, "So are you just going to lay there or are you going to fuck me?" she whispered in his ear.

Mike laughed at her unusual dirty talk. Lisa wasn't one to use vulgar language but having had some wine and feeling sensuous after her orgasm she used it more as shock value to play with Mike. "You'll get fucked alright," he said, pulling his cock out and purposely slamming it back into her wet pussy as hard as he could without hurting her.

"Oh yeah big boy, do it hard, make me cum with that big hard cock of yours," she said giggling, the effects of the wine becoming more obviously.

Mike slowly started pumping his erection in and out of her wetness. Kissing her and nibbling on her ear, he worked into a slightly faster pace for a while before slowing again, relishing the feeling of being sexually coupled with her. Her pussy was tight and he felt her heat along the entire length of his cock when he was in her completely. 

Mike started to feel his orgasm mounting and not wanting to cum yet he pulled out and rubbed his cock against the length of Lisa's wetness, moving up on her body, making sure he rubbed her clit. 

"Hey, where are you going?" she asked in protest, as he kissed her and slid down her body, sucking on her erect nipples and kissing his way down her smooth torso to the small patch of curly pubic hair.

When he kissed her clit her protest turned to moans, "Ooh, yeah, that feels so-o-o-o good," she breathed.

Mike had explored her intimate area enough to know just where to stimulate her. He used the tip of his tongue to trace the edges of Lisa's soft wet lips. He loved teasing her this way, slowly building her up to an orgasm. Sometimes he got as much pleasure from her orgasms as she did. He loved helping her cum, especially orally. He loved the way she tasted, he could always get her juices flowing and he usually liked to help her have at least one orgasm before he let her get him off.

He continued exploring her pussy with his tongue, alternately pressing it into her wetness and running it up and down her lips. Only occasionally flicking at her clit, knowing that she would climax faster but her orgasm wouldn't be as fulfilling as it would be if he helped her build up to it slowly. 

Her pussy swelled with the attention, her labia presenting its softness to his advances, he sucked her lips into his mouth and gently massaged them with his tongue. He licked at her slit, intent on not letting any of her scrumptious nectar escape his tongue. What he wasn't able to consume seeped out of her to the sheets under her ass.

Mike was leaving his own wet spots on the sheets, his cock oozing pre-cum as he kissed and sucked on Lisa's pussy. His cock was hard and he was ready to fill her pussy again.

Lisa was moaning now, "Oh God Mike, you are making me so fucking hot! I want you to fuck me now Mike!"

Mike redirected his stimulation to her clit. Tentatively at first, skirting the edges before flicking at the engorged bud. Using the bottom of his tongue he rubbed it directly, curling his tongue to surround it.

Lisa moaned again, "YeahYeahYeah, YeahYeahYeah, Oh Mike, Oh Mike! I'm cumming, I'm cumming!"

Mike covered her clit with his mouth and sucked on it while flicking it with his tongue.

Lisa screamed out, "Oh fuck yes! Oh-h-h-h yes-s-s-s!" Her hips lifted to his mouth, her thighs tightened around his face. "Oh my God Mike, FUCK ME NOW!"

Mike pulled his wet face away from her sex and quickly knelt between her knees, Lisa fumbled for his erection, finally grabbing it and pulling it to her pussy. Mike leaned into her and thrust the engorged head of his cock into her wetness. Her dripping wet pussy accepted his cock easily as he slid into her completely.

Mike felt the last few contractions of Lisa's orgasm as he pumped his hard-on in and out of her. "Oh God Lisa, you feel fantastic! I'm going to cum in you baby!"

"Yeah babe, cum in me! Fill my hot pussy with your cum! Fuck me hard and cum in me Mike! I want to feel your hot cream fill my pussy!" Lisa was coming down from her orgasm but she wanted Mike to take her back up with his.

Mike was pumping hard, his cock sliding in and out faster and faster. His balls ached, only the release of ejaculation would ease the pain and he knew his orgasm was eminent but he tried to hold it off as long as he could.

"Squeeze me baby, squeeze my cock!" Mike said. His arms were under her shoulders pulling his body into hers as his release came. His hot cum spewed into wet pussy, painting her cervix with his seed, as she squeezed him, trying desperately to hold onto his erection as he pumped a few more times, his cock jerking out the last of his cum, before he collapsed on top of her.

"Lisa, you're the best baby!" he said after finally regaining some control and rolling them both over together.

They laid together and rested for a while with Mike's shaft still inside her. Lisa flexed her vaginal muscles on Mike's flaccid cock. "You like that Mike?" she asked.

"Mmmm, yeah that feels good. You might just get laid again if you keep that up." He replied.

"Oh good, I was hoping I could get you up once more tonight," she laughed.

"Well you've never had any trouble getting me hard Babe. I'm sure you'll come up with something," he offered.

Lisa kissed him as she squeezed his stiffening cock. She clenched her vaginal muscles as she moved her hips away from him, her pussy pulling on his cock as he slid out of her.

Mike rolled onto his back pulling her over on top of him. He held her, caressing her ass as he kissed her moist lips. Their tongues flitting in and around in their mouths.

Lisa pulled away form him and moved lower on his body kissing him until her mouth was near his erection. She licked his shaft from top to bottom and back to the tip. Lisa sucked the head into her mouth and massaged it with her tongue before drawing most of his length into her mouth. Her head bobbed up and down, her warm wet lips massaging his cock as it slid in and out of her hot mouth.

Lisa lifted her head and released his cock with a wet slurp. She kissed and licked her way to his scrotum and sucked one of his testicles into her mouth. She explored the testes delicately with her tongue, softly rolling it in her mouth.

Mike moaned as she stroked his shaft and sucked the other testes into her mouth and manipulated it with her tongue. Her hand covered the head of his cock and used the pre-cum to lubricate his shaft as she continued stroking and sucking.

"That feels so damned good Lisa," Mike panted, "don't stop."

Lisa cupped his balls gently as she took his erection back into her mouth. Her head lowered slowly until his cock was pressing against her throat.

She shifted her body on the bed getting her sex within Mike's reach. "Finger me Mike," she whispered around his hard-on.

Mike reached out and found her, running his hand over her mound and slipping a finger between her wet lips into her hole. He worked his finger in and out of her wetness before slipping in a second finger.

Lisa moaned on his cock, "Oh yeah, that feels good Mike!"

Mike's fingers curled up stroking her G-spot as his fingers reached into her pussy.

"Mmmmm, that feels nice Mike," she whispered around the engorged head of his shaft.

She held his cock with her hand as she tongued and sucked the swollen head. Her tongue tickled the slit, lightly flicking at it and then twirling around it. The contrasting sensations were sending him to another orgasm, he felt his scrotum contracting pulling his balls up in preparation of his imminent orgasm.

As his fingers massaged her G-spot he felt her body stiffen and then begin to tremble as she started to cum. Her orgasm inspired her, she tenaciously sucked him into her mouth, determined to taste his cum while her own orgasm wracked her body.

Mike clawed at he sheets as Lisa devoured him until he couldn't hold out any longer, his cock jerked as his hot cum pumped into her mouth. He savored his release as she finished him by milking the last of his seed with her tongue.

"That was marvelous!" she whispered as she kissed him.

"Yes you are," he said, kissing her back.



Lisa Ch. 02: Consequences



"Jesus Christ! Scott!" Josh and Riley yelled at the same time as they raced to Scott's side. 

Jim paused in the doorway. She had missed. Jim replayed the moment in his mind and it confirmed what he thought. Jessica could have fired as he came in the door and he would've been dead. She had him in her sites ... a bullet between the eyes, but she'd missed. On purpose. He'd seen the momentary hesitation in her eyes. A split second decision, and he was alive.

He looked over at Angus, bent over Jessica's motionless body, pounding away at her with the force of his whole body. There was a sickening thudding sound, much like the sound of a mallet pounding out meat. Then he swung his eyes to Scott's body on the floor, blood pooling out from it. Josh and Riley working frantically over him. 

He was rooted to the spot. What to do? He looked over at Angus again. He was still pounding away. There was no way Jessica was going to survive that. He wondered if he should stop Angus. But it was probably too late already. And besides. How could he justify that? Sure, she'd saved his life .. or so it seemed. But she'd taken Scott's.

"It's just his shoulder!" Riley suddenly yelled, a loud laugh escaping him. He fell back onto his haunches, relief evident in his eyes.

"What does that mean?" Josh asked, gawking at Riley from across Scott's body, where he was kneeling. He held his hands in front of him, blood covering them. Jim noticed that Angus had stopped pummeling Jessica and stood looking at Riley.

"It means, he's going to be fine. But we have to get him over to Caleb's, get him some help."

"What about her?" Jim asked, pointing at Jessica's lifeless body.

"Is she still alive?" Riley asked.

Angus nodded. He could see her breathing.

Riley exhaled. They were supposed to break her, they were supposed to win. Riley slid his eyes over to Scott. But, she had gone too far now. He got to his feet and picked up the gun that Angus had knocked from Jessica's hand. His feet felt like they weighed a ton each as he walked to stand over Jessica. 

"I guess this couldn't have ended any other way ... " Riley said cocking the hammer and point the gun at Jessica's temple.

Jim couldn't breathe. Part of him wanted to scream at Riley to stop, but another part of him just couldn't. He wanted to close his eyes so he couldn't see it ... but he seemed to have lost command over all parts of his body. Seconds ticked by and nothing happened. 

"Shit," Riley swore as he uncocked the gun. He looked up at Jim, Josh and then Angus. Surprise evident on his face. "I can't do it."

"Give me that!" Angus thundered grabbing the gun from Riley and pressing the nozzle up to Jessica's temple. This was it. He was going to put an end to all this shit, finally! 

But, he wondered, when Jessica was dead who would he take his frustrations out on? Then the scene from a few minutes earlier played out in his head. Something was off. 

He replayed the scene as he came in through the back door. His heart was pounding as he saw Scott laying to the side and Jessica pointing the gun at the front door. If he didn't get to her in time she was going to kill one of the other men. He remembered the fear he felt as he realized that he was not going to get to her before the front door opened and the next victim came in. And it was Jimmy. Jimmy came in, right in Jessica's sights. And then Jessica missed ... on purpose. Yes. He replayed the moment in his mind and he was sure that he hadn't imagined it. 

She had Jimmy in her sights and then she moved her aim and shot wide. Why? Why had she done that? If he killed her, he'd never know. And though she had shot Scott, she had spared Jimmy. Why?

From across the room Angus heard Josh say his name ... in a tone that implied that he wasn't eager to have Jessica die either. Angus had to think ... what to do? 

Josh stared at the scene before him. He'd muttered Angus' name, unsure what he wanted to tell him. The shock of Jessica gunning Scott down was wearing off, and he was beginning to think again. This was all happening so fast. Jessica deserved to die for what she did ... that was true. But something about it all ending like this just seemed like a cheat. Like they were all being jilted out of something. Josh didn't know what he was going to say next, how to word his thoughts, but it didn't seem to matter. Angus hadn't fired yet and frustration on his face as he stared down at the gun made it pretty clear that Angus was just as unprepared for this as the rest of them.

"Arghhh!!!!" Angus finally growled and threw the gun to the side.

"Jim, Josh?" Riley asked, mystified as to why it was so hard for him and especially Angus, to pull the trigger. Both Jim and Josh shook their heads. "Someone has to stay here with ..." 

"I will." Jim said, interrupting Riley.

"Alright. Josh, Angus, help me get Scott to the car." Riley ordered.

The three of them scooped Scott up and thundered out the door. Jim stood watching the car speed out of the driveway. And then he closed the door. He turned back to where Jessica lay on the floor. 

He stood looking at her bloodied face, her broken body, and he felt sorry for her. She tried so hard to get away. He knew that if this were a book or movie, he and the men would be the villains and she would be the luckless heroine who simply couldn't catch a break. 

By all rights, she should have been dead right then. Any one of them should have been able to put the gun to her head and pull the trigger. Jim wasn't sure if the fact that she was still alive was actually a curse or a blessing for her. Probably only time would tell. He didn't know where the men would go as a next step with her. The best he could do was clean her up and wait for their return.

He carried her to his room. Laying her on his bed he got a bowl of warm water and a cloth. "You are going to be in some serious pain." He murmured to her as he began to clean her face. "I hope this is the final straw that gets you in line. It's time you stopped fighting, and started conforming." 

As he looked down at her bruised and bloodied face, he replayed the moment again. The terrifying moment that he realized she had the drop on him. And then she shot wide. 

He would always be indebted to her for that. The only way he could think to repay the debt was to work harder at making her life here better. He wasn't really sure how much of a repayment that was. He supposed that to really do her the favor she'd done for him, he would have to help her go home. But he couldn't do that. Just the next best thing. Try to make life bearable for her. He looked her over. Bearable. Somehow, Jessica reminded him of his sister. She hadn't found life bearable and Jim had missed the signs. He saw a lot of similarities between Jessica and his sister now that he thought about it. Well, what happened to his sister wasn't going to happen to Jessica. Not if he could help it.

"I promise ..." he whispered. "I don't know how ... but somehow I'll make things better." He began to hum as he worked. It was the song he knew she liked. He'd play it for her after. Maybe it'd help to bring her around.

Jessica shifted and then froze as pain paralyzed her. She held her breath as she waited for what seemed like forever for the pain to subside. Then she cracked her eyes open. Disappointment overwhelmed her. She wasn't dead. She wasn't free and she wasn't dead. Damn it!

She opened her eyes a little more and saw Jim sitting at the foot of his bed. The way he moved, and the music Jessica finally noticed playing around her told her that he was playing his guitar. He wasn't paying any attention to her and as she tried once again to move, she knew why. She couldn't move. Not even her little toe. She was going nowhere.

She must have made a noise of some sort because the music suddenly stopped and Jimmy looked over at her.

"Hey," he said. She wondered how he could do that ... make his eyes look so serious, but his mouth actually smile ... kind of. "Don't try to move." He said putting his guitar down and shifting closer to her. "Here, do you want a sip of water?" he asked picking up a cup from his side table and holding a straw to her mouth. 

Despite herself Jessica was grateful. She took a couple of sips as she tried to assess her condition.

"You're a mess." Jim said with a tight laugh. "I'm guessing a fractured jaw, skull. Several broken ribs. I actually wouldn't be surprised if one or both of your arms were fractured as well." He shook his head. "It's as if you were in a car accident." He shook his head again. "Angus is a force to be reckoned with. But I guess you already know that. Scott is going to be fine." He added. "Not what you were hoping to hear?" he asked in a sarcastic yet sad tone when Jessica closed her eyes.

"You're lucky that he's alive. It seems that we're not up to killing you, which means you'd be in for a whole lot more hurt instead, had he died. You do understand that right?" he asked moving closer to look her in the eye. "You understand that this ..." he waved his hand from the top of her face to the bottom, "is only the beginning. I'm not sure what will happen next." She couldn't move a muscle in her face or body, but he could clearly see the terror in her eyes. She knew alright. He exhaled.

"Look. I don't know how I'm going to do it. But somehow I will. Somehow I will make this less ... bad. But you have to help me. Help me to help you. And ..." he said with a laugh that sounded less like a laugh and more like a question, "I don't know how you're going to do that either. But you have to."

He sat looking at her and Jessica began to wonder if his face was double jointed or something. He was doing it again. His eyes pierced into hers, somber, serious, commanding, but his mouth twisted into a smile so disarming that you'd think he was relaxed and without a care in the world. He stared at her a moment longer and then moved back. 

"So for now," he said, pausing to look her over from head to toe. "I'm not sure how we're going to do this. You can't move or talk ... so I can only guess when you need to drink or go to the bathroom. I, ah, well, I asked Riley, Josh and Angus to bring home some diapers. You know, the adult ones. Just to make things easier. But I'm not sure they'll be looking to make things easier for you. They may just want to drag you back and forth to the bathroom. We'll see I guess. Anyway. For now I'll ask every hour or so to see if you have to go. If you do, blink twice. 'K?"

He was looking at her expectantly. Jessica had to think for a minute, working through the haze that fogged her mind, before blinking her eyes twice.

"Good. And one blink will be no. They won't be back until tomorrow probably. Maybe not even until later. I imagine you'll want to sleep." He said. 

Jessica blinked once. The pain was constant now that her body realized she was conscious. There was no way she could sleep.

"No?" Jim asked in surprise. "Okay. Well, what to do then?" He looked around his room and then he looked back at Jessica. He seemed to be considering something. "What the hell." He said with a shrug. "I've got a little secret I'm willing to share with you. But I'm counting on you keeping it to yourself."

He paused and again it took a while for Jessica to realize that he was waiting for a response from her. Jessica exhaled in resignation and then very quickly regretted it.

"I told you, no sudden movements!" he said as Jessica went rigid and she clamped her eyes shut, trying to will the pain away. "So?" he asked when the pain had subsided and she'd relaxed again. "Can I trust you with my secret or not?"

Jessica blinked twice.

"Good!" he said in an animated voice. He suddenly seemed like a kid rather than a man, his face lighting up with joy. He leaned in closer to her, looking around in a conspiratory manner. 

"I have a T.V." he all but whispered in an excited voice. For a second Jessica forgot about the pain. 

A T.V? She hadn't watched television in so long. She suddenly yearned for it.

"Yes," he said as if her eyes had conveyed the importance of this to him. "A T.V. And I have a really good antennae. I can catch all the really good channels. Do you want me to set it up?"

Jessica blinked twice without hesitation.

Jimmy chuckled. "Okay. But I'm trusting you to keep this quiet. Between you and me only. The clan takes a somewhat dim view of television ..."

Jessica blinked twice again. 

Jim laughed, loud and long. Finally a response from Jessica that he didn't have spend hours extracting. 

He went to his closet and pulled the small T.V out and set it up on the dresser across from his bed. He turned it on and came to sit next to her on the bed.

"It's small, but it's in color. And, I have a DVD player to go along with it. We can rent movies." He pressed the power button on and then looked down at Jessica who was straining her eyeballs to look over at the television.

"Hmmm." He said. "You can't really see it, can you? I can stack these pillows up a little and shift you up onto them ... but it's going to hurt like a son of a bitch. Do you want me to try?"

Jessica blinked twice. Jim grinned from ear to ear and nodded.

"Okay hold on." He said as he leaned over her and lifted her torso as he tried to push some pillows behind her. Jessica gasped in pain. Stars danced behind her eyes, but she didn't care. Anything to see that T.V. "Are you okay?" he asked when he finally got her pulled up high enough on the pillows so that she could see the T.V.

Jessica blinked twice.

"Okay. What do you want to watch?" He asked taking his place beside her again and beginning to flip through the channels. "Whoa! Hold on there!" he exclaimed, catching Jessica as her body began to slide to the right. "That would've been great ..." he muttered, pulling her up again, "falling on the floor, perfect for your head and ribs." He continued to mutter. But no sooner was Jessica propped up on the pillows again that she began to slide again.

"I don't think this is going to work." Jim said and looked her over, seeming to be considering something. "I have an idea. I think it'll be the only way you'll be able to stay up to see the T.V. But I'm not sure how you're going to feel about it. Do you want to hear it?"

"Okay." He said when Jessica had indicated that she did. "You can lean on me. I'll hold you up against me." Jim paused. He could understand why she might say no, but in a strange way he was afraid to hear it. He had no sexual feelings toward Jessica. None at all. But he did want her to like him. At least enough that she wouldn't be repulsed to be sitting on his lap, in his arms ... watching T.V.

"What do you think?" he asked in a careful tone.

Jessica blinked twice. No way was she going to give up the chance to watch T.V. And besides, this was Jim. Had it been any one of the others she wouldn't have even considered it. 

Jessica had never seen his face light up the way it did right then. It was odd that his obvious happiness brought her an ounce of joy. 

"Okay ... hold on ... this is going to hurt." And as gently as he could, Jim lifted Jessica up to a sitting position. Jessica was blinded by pain ... her head pounding. For a moment she thought she was going to pass out, but then Jim had slid behind her, one leg on either side of her, and he leaned her back against his chest. His arms on either side of her, keeping her upright. Jessica wasn't surprised at how solid he felt. Jim, like the other men, had the most chiseled bodies she had ever seen in her life. Having been only eighteen when kidnapped she had little to compare them to other then the soldiers and police officers who she'd seen working with her parents. But of course, she hadn't felt their bodies, just seen them. And she was surprised to find that when Jim's body wasn't busy restraining her, it was solid yet comfortable. 

Jim pressed his face to Jessica's hair. It was convenient that he couldn't really help it given the way they were sitting. He wanted so much to protect her. From the men and their anger, but also, ironically, from herself. He wasn't sure he'd ever get this opportunity again, so he nuzzled in to her hair shamelessly. She didn't seem to mind. Despite her condition he was certain she'd find a way to tense, or protest. Instead she exhaled, and seemed to relax into him.

"Comedy okay with you?" he asked and leaned forward enough to see her eyelashes flutter twice. He turned it to a re-run of Three's Company and gently pulled his arms tighter around her.

Jessica watched the T.V. but was incredibly aware of Jim. Not in a concerned or scared way. Nothing about him made her worry that he would be trying anything sexual. She felt like she were home again, cuddling with her dad, or her brothers. She decided right then that no matter what the future brought, no matter what she'd have to do to get away from here, it could not include hurting Jim in any way. She relaxed and focused on the show. It was so funny that she kept trying to laugh, which in turn caused her blinding pain.

"Maybe we should watch something else ..." Jim suggested after the fourth or fifth time Jessica tensed with pain. "Drama or something? Something that won't make you laugh?" But when he leaned around to see her answer, Jessica blinked once.

"Okay, " he said shaking his head in disbelief. "You really are a glutton for punishment!" 

They watched hours of television. Stopping only for Jim to take Jessica to the bathroom. A horribly painful experience that neither one of them wanted to repeat any time soon. Jessica sipped water and snoozed on and off. 

Waking from a snooze, she heard Jim swear under his breath and then flick the T.V. off.

"Good, you're awake. They're back. I've gotta put the T.V. back in the closet. Are you ready?"

They had devised the least painful way for Jim to get out from behind Jessica. It required incredible flexibility on Jim's part, which Jessica was surprised to find out that he had. He would lean Jessica away from him and then lift his leg over her, sliding off of the bed on the right. He helped Jessica ease down into a prone position and managed to just get the T.V. into the closet when a loud knock thundered on the bedroom door.

"Come in!" Jim called. Jessica closed her eyes. She could hear the door open, the men enter the room, but she had no desire to see them. What were they going to do to her? She was sure it would be as unpleasant as possible.

"How's Scott?" Jim asked.

"He'll be okay." Riley answered. "How's she?"

"Pretty battered." Jim said. "I think she's got fractures pretty much everywhere. She can't move, much less talk. Are you aiming to punish her for shooting Scott?"

"She'll be punished alright." Angus growled.

"But not now and not by us." Riley added. "Scott gets to decide the punishment and gets first dibs when he comes home."

"And I get to be next in line." Angus said.

"I think you've done more than your fair share." Josh said quietly. There was silence from the men. Jessica cracked her eye open a sliver and could see Josh staring at her. Undoubtedly he was mad that he hadn't had his turn to beat her up.

"I didn't intend to steal anyone's thunder." Angus finally said. "I can wait till everyone gets there's ..." 

A shiver went up Jessica's spine, as Josh rolled his eyes as if Angus was missing the point entirely. 

"So you're going to be able to leave her alone tonight?" Josh asked. "Given it's your night with her?" Josh was relieved that the men were misinterpreting his meaning. He'd spoken without realizing that he was going to say anything. Apparently he didn't have the stomach for the kind of torture that they were meting out. It surprised him, and he shuddered to think what the men would do or say if they knew that he considered Jessica's punishment complete.




Lisa Ch. 02: Consequences



"No sweat." Angus said, "Jimbo says she can't move. I've got a ton of parts to order. I can fill in the forms while she stares at the ceiling all night."

"I'll check her over, make sure there's no serious damage." Riley said. "She can spend the day on the sofa where we can keep an eye on her."

"Did you guys bring the diapers?" Jim asked. 

"Diapers?" Angus blurted with snort, "You've gotta be kidding me. We'll haul her skinny ass to the bathroom and the more it hurts, the better."

"It may make her think twice before she tries to shoot any of us again." Riley added, staring at Jessica, pleased to see understanding in her eyes before she closed them.

"Do you need me to stick around while you doctor her up?" Angus asked.

"Nope." Riley replied and Jessica felt the bed dip as Riley sat himself beside her. From below slightly open lids she saw Angus leave. 

"Has she been unconscious?" Riley asked.

"She's been in and out." Jim answered.

Riley began to feel his way around her head. A few times his hands landed on painful areas and it took all Jessica had to not cry out. His hands always investigated these areas more thoroughly, and not as gently as she suspected could have been possible.

"Her skull is fractured in two places. I'm surprised that her brain hasn't swollen." He pried Jessica's eye open and flashed the light from a small flashlight in it. And then he switched eyes. "She'll live. She won't be causing us much trouble for a while. And her head is going to hurt like a son of bitch. We could give her some pain killers to help with that, but we won't. A little suffering will do her some good. Hey Jessica? When your head feels like it's going to explode, think about whether you ever want to try shooting one of us again ... I'm willing to bet on what the answer will be." He ended with a laugh. "Let's put her on the sofa." 

Riley heaved himself from the bed. 

"I'll get her." Jim said, moving to scoop Jessica into his arms as gently as he could. His mind raced as he took her out to the living room and laid her on the sofa. Riley had followed behind him ... Josh had gone ahead of him, and then kept on going outside. 

Jim was aware of Riley watching him. He looked over his shoulder but couldn't read Riley's expression. Jim squatted next to Jessica, gently arranged her hands on her abdomen, and then exhaled. He didn't know if he could keep the promise he'd made to Jessica, much less how. There had to be an answer somewhere.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked.

"No. Not really."

"She won't do it again." Riley said moving beside Jim and laying his hand on Jim's shoulder.

Jim chuckled. "All things being equal Riley, I think she will."

Riley's hand fell from Jim's shoulder.

"You think we should have killed her?" 

"No. I'm glad that we didn't."

"I don't get it Jim, you just said ..."

"I said 'all things being equal'". Jim patted Jessica's hand and then stood up to face Riley. "I'm kind of hoping for something to change."

"I wish she'd change too." Riley agreed.

"Not just her Riley." Jim said.

Riley nodded. This war was getting tedious. A bit of a more normal life would be nice, he could admit it.

"One day we'll win Jim. The government and assholes like her parents will all disappear, and life will go on as it had been intended to."

"Riley ... I'm not talking about the war. About government, or people like Jessica's parents. I'm talking about us. Her, and us."

Riley slid his eyes to Jessica's still form and then back to Jim. Jim could tell that Riley had no idea what he was talking about. Completely understandable since Jim wasn't sure himself.

"Why did you do it Riley?" Jim asked, suddenly disbelieving all of the previous explanations Riley had given for taking Jessica.

"Do what?"

"Keep her alive?" Jim said nodding his head to Jessica. "When we attacked her family? We killed everyone else." 

He replayed the scene in his mind. Bodies lying everywhere, and Jessica, young and terrified, gripping a gun in her hands but not firing. Angus had raised his gun to shoot her, but Riley had stopped him. Told Angus to grab her and take her with them.

"I ..." Riley began but Jim interrupted him.

"The real reason Riley. The reason that she has been with us for so long. The reason that you've been sleeping with her ... the reason none of us could kill her today."

"I don't ..." Riley began but the look on Jim's face made him realize that playing dumb wouldn't work. "What the hell ... I don't know what you want me to say Jim. Things were hectic, it was a split second decision ..."

"That's lasted over a year."

Riley looked down at Jessica.

"We shouldn't be having this conversation around her."

"She's completely out of it." Jim said, the high pitched nasal whistle coming from Jessica as she snored supporting Jim's statement. "But if it makes you feel better, let's go into the kitchen."

Jim moved into the kitchen. Riley hesitated. He loved Jim like a brother but he didn't know if he really wanted him digging into his psyche. Eventually he followed him. He was curious about what Jim would uncover with his questions. More and more it felt like Riley was hiding something from himself.

"Enlighten me Jim. It seems to me that you already know the answer to the question. Why don't you share it with me?"

Jim shook his head. "I can only speak for myself."

"Okay. Speak."

"When we brought Jessica home, I think I felt relieved."

"Relieved?" Riley repeated. "How in God's name could you feel relieved?"

"Because we wouldn't be alone anymore."

"What the fuck? We were far from alone Jim, Caleb ..."

"A bunch of men Riley. I miss your Mom. My Mom, my sister ..."

"Jim," Riley began, but his voice broke. He kept forgetting how much younger Jim was than him. And how much more their families being gone could have impacted him. He cleared his throat. "There are other women in the clan."

Jim nodded. "But they're all taken ... if they're old enough. And, we'd have to join the other chapters or at least be much more closely affiliated with them. I kind of like just the five of us ... six when Kevin comes home. And Jessica. Well, she's kind of grown on me."

Riley was speechless. He started to feel like Jim had somehow gotten inside his head and read his thoughts. 

"She may have grown on you Jim, but I don't think you're making the same impression on her. She doesn't want to be here. She's made the statement loud and clear. With a gun."

Jim was nodding.

"I know. But you're really good with the dogs. Maybe the behavior modification you use on them, would work on Jessica."

Silence hung in the air. After a few minutes Riley opened his mouth to say something ... but couldn't think of what to say, so he gulped air like a fish out of water. 

Something he hadn't thought of. How to break her yes, to manipulate her, no.

"Do you think it would work?" Jim finally asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. I'd have to think about it. Regardless, she has to survive Scott's return home. I'm not holding my breath about that."

Jim nodded. Scott had good cause to out and out shoot her. Jim gnawed on his lip. Another problem to solve. 

"I'm glad that you told me this Jim. I'm sorry that you feel so alone."

"Lonely, not alone. I miss our families. I wish ..." Jim's voice trailed off.

"Me too." And Riley reached out to clamp his hand on Jim's shoulder again, and squeeze. 

"Go ahead with whatever you have to do outside." Jim said, forcing a smile. "I'll keep an eye on sleeping beauty." 



A couple of hours later Jessica was still sleeping on the sofa. Riley was cooking in the kitchen, Jim and Josh were reading in the living room when Angus stomped in.

"Can I have a minute?" Riley asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah, let me get cleaned-up ..." Angus said waving his grease covered hands toward his grease covered face. 

"Is there any grease left in your car?" Josh asked with a laugh.

"Ha, ha, funny." Angus grumbled as he moved through to the bathroom.

"May as well come and eat." Riley said to Jim and Josh, "It'll take him half an hour to get that crap off."

"Should we try to feed Jessica?" Jim asked, looking over to where Jessica slept.

"I doubt she could eat right now. We'll give her some broth later." Riley answered.

While he ate, Riley reviewed what it had taken him two hours to conclude. 

Rather than work with the dogs, as he should have been doing, Riley sat on the grassy hill near the kennels and considered Jim's suggestion. It was doable. It would be more complicated than with a dog. Not only were dogs by nature, eager to please, but they generally had one owner. One person they felt subservient to. One person that ruled their lives.

Jessica had five ... six at some point in the future. 

And she was anything but subservient. At the moment. 

But with serious behavior modification, she would become so. The trick was that the five of them, Angus, Josh, Jim, Scott and himself, had to be on the same page. Expect the same things, have the same rules. 

If Scott didn't kill Jessica, Riley was pretty sure he could get Jim, Josh and Scott on the same page. He guessed that they were just as interested in having Jessica as part of the clan as he was. 

But Angus. He was another story. He'd been hurt bad by Beth and Riley suspected that Angus saw Jessica as a way to strike back at Beth ... at women. Riley had come to the conclusion that both wants were compatible and could be achieved via the same method. Now he just had to convince Angus of that. Once he was on board ... and Scott had his opportunity to punish Jessica, Riley figured that they could easily have Jessica trained in no time at all. But to be safe, he was giving them six months. 

"Where're Jim and Josh?" Angus asked, dragging a chair out from the table and dropping on to it. 

"They ate already ... you've been in the crapper of over an hour. They're out doing some chores in the barn." Riley said sliding a plate of food in front of Angus.

"Thanks." Angus said and began shoveling the food into his mouth.

"I wanna try something with Jessica." Riley began. Normally he was more than willing to give credit for good ideas, where credit was due. But to tell Angus that this idea had come from Jim was to guarantee that Angus refused to consider it. For some unknown reason, Angus had a sore spot with Jim. He loved him, that was for sure, but if Jim said black, Angus had to say white. It was a reflex.

"Sure ... I can do anything Riley, but I thought we'd promised Scott to let him at her first."

"We did, and he'll get first dibs on punishing her. But I was thinking along the lines of trying the opposite approach."

Angus froze, fork midway to his mouth and stared at Riley. "Opposite?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm thinking that given that Jessica can't so much as sneeze right now, it would be a good time to try and brainwash her into capitulating. Maybe we can make her fit in. Here with us."

"Ahuh. And how is that supposed to work?"

"By giving her rules. Rewarding her when she follows them."

"And punishing her when she doesn't ..." Angus said, an angry gleam in his eye.

"Yes, consequences of not obeying are needed. It's behaviour modification Angus. We have to act like she's ours. And we have to start to make her feel like she belongs here."

"You're shittin' me!" Angus asked in disbelief. He looked around the room as if he expected someone to jump out and yell, 'April Fools!'.

"I'm not. There's nothing to it really. While she can't move, just go about your business. Talk to her about stuff. Stuff other than her family, other than everything she's done wrong. And we'll teach her the rules ... our expectations. By the time she's fully mobile again, she should be well on her way to being where we want her to be."

"You want me to talk to her?!" Angus demanded.

"If you can. But you don't have to. Just act like she's supposed to be here. It should be easy given that she can't move a muscle."

"All I can promise to do is to ignore her while she's lying around not trying to escape or kill one of us." Angus said tossing his fork onto his plate.

"Okay, that's fine too. Just do your best."

"I don't get it Riley." Angus began, shaking his head. "Jessica practically blows Scott away, almost does the same to Jim. And you know, know, she would have shot all of us if she'd had the chance. We've tried breaking her for over a year now and gotten nowhere. What makes you think this will work? And why do you even want to bother?"

"All of that is true." Riley said. "But wouldn't it be nice to have a female around. One to which we could do whatever we want?" Riley chose those words carefully. If that didn't get Angus willing to try, nothing would. 

"So ... you don't want to kill her anymore?" Angus asked, stunned.

"No. If it can be avoided, I'd rather not."

"What if she escapes?"

"Everything has a consequence Angus ... escaping calls for the death penalty. But, just remember that shooting Scott called for one too and she's still alive."

Angus felt his blood boiling. He shoved his plate away. 

"Give me a gun and I will do it this time ..." he growled. "I don't know what was wrong with me Riley, sorry."

"No, wait ..." Riley said reaching to grab Angus' arm as he pushed himself away from the table. "I wasn't making a comment about your ability to carry out orders Angus. None of us were able to do it, remember? And I think it's because we want more from Jessica."

Angus' face turned red as he dropped back into his chair.

"If by more you mean using her as our own personal whore ... a punching bag and a sex toy, then okay. But anything else, forget it. She's the enemy Riley. She will always be the enemy ..."

Riley stared at Angus. 

Change was better in small steps with Angus, Riley knew this. Rather than argue further, he was going to have to let Angus stick with this notion. Punching bag and sex toy. Maybe it would even help keep Jessica in line. If Angus wanted to use her that way so badly, then let him. At least Riley wouldn't have to.

Riley didn't trust himself to speak. He was about to use his best friend in a way that was unforgivable. All he could do was nod.

"Fine." Angus grumbled, shoving his chair back and standing. He clenched his fists as he glared at Riley. He cursed himself for his weakness. The dreams he was having, hugging Jessica at night. It was making him weak. Jessica was dangerous. He couldn't define it exactly, but she was dangerous in a way that he was certain the other men didn't realize. 

That was okay. Once she was on her feet again, she would try to escape, and when she did, he'd put a bullet in her brain. In the meantime, he would use her to get his frustrations out. 

"If she knows what's good for her she'll modify her behavior damn fast." Angus finally said. "But she won't. Because she doesn't. And I'll enjoy every second of it. Thanks Riley." And he turned and stomped out the front door.

That night Angus kicked his bedroom door shut behind him, moved to his bed and lay Jessica's lifeless form onto it. He closed the handcuff around her right wrist, covered her with the blanket and stood looking at her battered face. 

Unconscious like this Jessica seemed harmless, almost fragile. Angus snorted out a laugh at that thought. About as harmless and fragile as a neutron bomb. 

He did have a lot of calls to make. What difference did it really make if he made them with her lying here. She was out of it ... it'd be as if she weren't even here.

Riley had given him the cell phone that they shared. He dialed the number for Caleb's place. That was where the other half of their cell lived. Their estranged half. Estranged because of her. Caleb had once suggested to Angus that he had a choice about which location he, Angus, sided with. It was funny that Caleb would think that. 

For as long as Angus could remember Angus had one simple philosophy. Where Riley went, Angus went. Riley was closer than a brother to Angus. He couldn't think of life without him. He had no idea how Caleb had drawn the conclusion that Angus would leave him . 

Plus, he had had to get away from Beth. 

Now he had the best possible scenario. He was still with Riley, got away from Beth, and had Jessica to take his frustrations out on and get right what he'd gotten so wrong with Beth. 

He did regret not seeing their old friends more often though. And with this phone call he could kill two birds with one stone. Scott was recuperating at Caleb's. He could find out how he was doing from Sean while finding out what was wrong with Sean's car.

Jessica tried to lie still, terrified that Angus would realize that she was awake. Her heart pounded in her chest. What was he going to do to her? She'd awoken when he'd picked her up from the sofa, and without even opening her eyes she knew it was him. He smelled of whiskey and grease, and she could feel the tension in his muscled arms as he clutched her to him like a couple of iron bars. His hands grasped her in the same restraining fashion that he always used when holding her down or forcing her to do what he wanted. 

As he'd laid her on his bed, terror gripped her. She couldn't handle his abuse right then. She was in so much pain that even just his breath across her skin made her want to scream. She didn't look forward to the rest of the night. 

But then he'd stepped away and hadn't come back. Deciding that knowing where he was and what he was doing was worth the risk of inviting abuse, Jessica opened her eyes to a small slit and spotted him at the foot of the bed. He stood facing the far corner of the room and from that angle she could see his profile and tell that he had a phone to his ear.

He had a phone to his ear. That was so odd. He never did anything in this room with her other than abuse, humiliate and rape her. Now he was talking on a phone? 

Jessica could hear the ring tone, and then a woman's voice said 'hello'. And Jessica gasped. With that one word, Angus' whole demeanor changed. His jaw went rigid. 

Fear shot through her again as he turned toward her, but Jessica forgot her fear in that second. Angus was not looking at her, he was staring off into the distance, and the look of pain that he had on his face at that moment caused her heart to squeeze as if someone had reached into her chest and crushed her heart with his fist. 

His whole face seemed to have convulsed into a silent scream. Jessica heard the woman's voice on the line again, and she was surprised to realize that Angus needed protection from that voice. 

Whoever that woman was, she had done unspeakable things to Angus. Jessica knew that as surely as she knew her own, real, name. Suddenly the agony on Angus' face mutated. It seemed to waiver for a moment, and then Angus' face reconstructed itself into the look of hate and loathing that Jessica recognized only too well. Jessica ignored the pain as she pushed her body into the bed, trying as hard as possible to get further from Angus. 

"Give me Sean!" Angus ordered, his voice filled with hatred.

Jessica heard the woman's voice again and watched as Angus' face grew a dark red.

"I will not talk to you Beth!" he thundered, spitting her name out as if it were bitter in his mouth. "Give me Sean, now!"

Beth. The name reverberated in Jessica's mind. So that was it. Angus hated Jessica as much as he hated Beth. Angus had nightmares about Beth all the time. He'd start off sounding sad, but then got progressively angrier and angrier. He had called Jessica Beth many times. While beating Jessica ... while raping her. She knew that she and Angus had a healthy hate on for one another, but she didn't fully appreciate the depth with which he hated her, until now.

Jessica had no idea who this Beth woman was, but was happy for her that she had managed to get away from Angus. Jessica wondered if she'd ever get away herself. Well, at least now she knew why Angus looked at her with such disgust all of the time. She wondered what it was about her that made her as hideous to Angus as Beth obviously was.




Lisa Ch. 02: Consequences



"Sean!" Angus practically grunted. "What is she doing there?" Jessica could hear a man's voice on the phone this time. "I don't ever want to speak to that bitch again! You have call display on your phone, use it!"

Jessica heard the man speak again and Angus seemed to be calming down.

"Yeah," Angus finally muttered. "maybe I should call back later about your car."

Angus listened for a few moments and then exhaled. "Okay. Yeah, I got some time. Sorry about that." 

He turned away and went to pull the chair out from under his office desk. Straddling it, he sat facing Jessica. Jessica closed her eyes. He hadn't noticed her watching him. Thank God! 

"So how's Scott?" Angus asked. "Yeah, I can believe it!" he said after having listened for a moment. "Tell him that he'll have his rightful chance at her. We've saved her for him ... he can take as long as he wants. Yeah ..."

Jessica's heart pounded so hard that it hurt. Scott was coming back, and he'd have his revenge. In this condition she wouldn't stand a chance at fighting back. Oh God! Jimmy was right. Things were going to get much, much, worse.

She'd forgotten about Angus momentarily but then she heard something so alien that she turned her head to look at him without thinking about the consequences. Pain shot through her, and Angus saw her move. He continued to laugh into the phone as he got up and moved toward her. It was true, he was laughing. Not a cruel, sneering laugh, but a real laugh and for a moment he almost looked like a normal human being.

"... this weekend?" he was saying into the phone as he stopped by the bed. Jessica shut her eyes hoping that he hadn't noticed that they'd been open. "I didn't know there was a rally this weekend. Mechanic? Really?" his voice faded as he moved away from the bed. Jessica couldn't breathe. She didn't believe for a moment that he was going to leave her alone until Scott got back. Maybe she'd be lucky and he'd stay on the phone for the whole night.

"Okay, sure I'm in." Angus was saying. "I'll meet you at 9?"

Angus hung up but didn't come back to the bed.

Jessica forced herself to relax. It hurt too much to be so tense. This was going to be a long night. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that she'd fall to sleep so the morning could come sooner. Fully aware that it was wishful thinking, she hoped Angus stayed away from her all night.

The next morning Jim waited with great trepidation for Angus to bring Jessica to the living room. He was afraid to see what state she was in. He had little confidence in Angus' ability to leave her alone. Especially given the fact that Riley told him how reluctant Angus had been to follow the plan.

But finally Angus emerged, carrying Jessica, and he laid her, onto the sofa. 

"How'd it go?" Riley asked.

"Piece of cake. Especially after speaking with Sean and finding out how anxious Scott is to get his get a hold of her. I couldn't disappoint him, now could I?" Angus snickered as he moved away from the sofa and into the kitchen.

Jim moved closer and peered down at Jessica. Her cheeks seemed a little red but other than that he couldn't detect any damage.

"Oh, and I've taken her for her morning shit. It was real fun watching her try to squeeze that out." 

Jessica squeezed her eyes closed tight and her cheeks flamed red. 

Well that explained the blushing. 

"Consider yourself lucky," Jimmy murmured to Jessica when Angus and Riley were out of hearing range, "he could have done a lot worse."

"Did you say something?" Josh asked. 

"Yeah, just reminding Jessica that she was lucky that all she got from Angus was an embarrassing moment on the toilet."

"No kidding." Josh said and both moved away from the sofa.

Jessica exhaled. She really didn't need Jimmy to remind her of that. 

She could barely believe that Angus had left her alone all night. But she knew why. She knew that when Scott got back, things would get much, much, worse. The best she could do, was hope that she would have enough strength back by then to at least try and defend herself.

And then of course once he was through with her, Angus would take over. And she'd be unable to defend against him. And then there were the others. But she worried less about them. None of them seemed to get as much pleasure from punishing her as Angus did. Despite the fear that overwhelmed her, Jessica drifted off to sleep.

She awoke to the sound of an electric drill. Opening her eyes she saw Josh and Riley working on something on the wall near the front door.

"Wakey, wakey ..." Angus said from behind her. Pain pulsed through her as she jumped in surprise. "See that ..." Angus continued in a low growl near her ear. His hot breath rolled across her cheek and his hand appeared before her to point at Riley and Josh. Just then the door opened and Jim came in carrying a rifle in each hand. 

"That is your doing. No more hand guns on us so you can't be tempted to try and kill us again. But those rifles are right there, easy for us to get should we need them. And you're not to so much as look at them. 'Cause if you do ... you're mine. Got it?"

A shiver ran down Jessica's spine. She couldn't see Angus, but she could imagine his expression just from the tone of his voice. 

"I said, 'Got it?' I expect an answer!" he growled.

"Hey, Angus!" Jim said moving forward when Angus looked like he was about to lose it. "She still can't move, remember?"

"Oh I don't know Jim ... I think she can handle a simple "yes" or "no" answer." Angus said, grasping Jessica by her hair and turning her face toward him. Angus was behind her so she could just catch a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye. "How 'bout it Princess? Do you understand that if you even blink in the direction of those guns I will become your worst nightmare? Worse than anything that's happened to you so far? Worse than anything that Scott is going to do to you when he gets home? Worse than anything the punishment that still awaits you from each and every one of us? Do ... you ... understand?" 

Jim stood watching Jessica, same as Riley and Josh. He willed her to reply. Despite the fact that he wanted to nurture a truce with her ... this was important. The rifles were going to be right there. Locked up, but there. And it was vital that Jessica not entertain any ideas about using them. Especially if he was going to be able to enact the next part of his plan. Getting her off the harness. The thought came to him earlier that morning. He'd been successful in getting the men to go along with the plan to train Jessica. The next step was to get them to take her off the leash. He was positive that with that little act of kindness they could go miles toward making peace with Jessica. But in order for that to work, she had to prove that she could listen ... and be trusted to stay away from the rifles.

"God damn it, you're making it really hard for me to keep my promise to Scott. You give me a fucking answer right now or your face and my fist are going to get re-acquainted sooner than expected!"

"Yes," Jessica managed to whisper. But Angus didn't hear her. Pain shot through her as he pushed her into a sitting position.

"Wait!" Jim yelled and surprised even himself with the pleading tone in his voice. "I mean ... hold on a minute ..." he said glancing at Riley, Josh and then Angus' put out expressions. "She replied. Say it again Jessica."

"Yes," Jessica whispered. Thankful to Jim for interceding.

Angus scowled at Jim. "Yes what?" he demanded. 

Jim groaned. Angus was going to find a way to inflict violence one way or another.

"She understands Angus!" Jim said in exasperation. 

Anger flashed across Angus' face. Dropping Jessica back on to the sofa, Angus sprung to his feet and advanced on Jim.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded.

Jim took an involuntary step back. 

"She answered you." He muttered. For a moment he wavered, fearful of the potential violence that Angus could inflict on him, but was immediately ashamed of himself. Jessica lived through that violence all the time. If she could do it, so could he.

"You little shit ..." Angus growled grabbing Jim's shirt collar and pulling him toward him. Jim's mind froze. He still clutched a rifle in each hand and was unable to determine how he could defend himself with his hands full.

"Angus!" Riley said, and stepped between Angus and Jim, forcing Angus to let go of Jim's shirt.

"Did you hear what he said?" Angus demanded. Jim moved back, surprised that things had come to this. He wasn't sure how it had happened, and he could see by the look on Josh's face that he was just as stunned. Riley turned from Angus to Jim and he looked pissed.

Jim raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry." He said. "I really didn't mean it the way it came out. Accept my apology ..." he said handing a rifle to Riley and then sticking his freed hand out to Angus. 

Angus and Riley stared at his hand. Jim stared at Angus. He and Angus had their differences of opinion in the past, about stupid stuff. But it had never come to near blows like this. Jim didn't want any bad blood between him and Angus. Not just for his sake, but Jessica's also. If Jim planned to help her as he'd vowed, he'd need to keep on Angus' good side. 

It seemed like forever before Angus took Jim's hand.

"Watch your tone ... " he grumbled as he clutched Jim's hand in a firm grip.

"Right, sorry." Jim replied.

Angus let his hand drop and turned back to the sofa. Riley took his place, moving his face within inches of Jim's. "What the hell was that?"

"She's answered Riley." 

"I've got enough work refereeing your petty arguments with Angus, Jim ... don't start picking more serious fights. Got it?"

Jim nodded and had to bite his tongue as Angus pulled Jessica up by the scruff of her shirt.

"I can hardly wait until Scott gets back. Once he gives the go ahead, you and I are going to party little girl, and it won't be anything you'll forget too soon!" Angus shoved Jessica back onto the sofa and then stomped out the front door. 

Christ, when Scott came home Angus was going to go on a rampage. There was only one thing Jim could do ... talk to Scott.

"Let's finish this up." Riley said, wishing Jim and Angus could just learn to get along.

"Hey, I've got some errands to run later." Jim said. "Do you need anything from town? I'll be stopping at Caleb's too."

"Yeah, I need a few things." Josh said.

"Riley?" Jim asked. 

"No, I'm fine."

It was Riley's night with Jessica that night, Jim thought to himself. Josh's the next night, and his, the next. Hopefully that gave Jessica three nights of peace. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to Scott about Jessica. What could he, in good conscience, say to a man whom she'd almost killed? Well, he'd have to think of something or else Jessica was going to end up dead whether Angus did it intentionally or not.

Jim had been gone all day. And Jessica had spent the whole day sleeping on the sofa. 

Now she lay, very awake, on Riley's bed, listening to him talking on the phone. Despite the constant pain her body was in, Jessica was restless. She'd rested as much as she could and now she felt incredibly alert. She felt adrenaline pumping as she worried more and more about Scott's return. 

She realized now that for some unknown reason Scott had always been the unlucky victim of her escape attempts. The realization caught her off guard. How had that happened? How was it that every real opportunity she'd had to escape came with Scott? 

He'd always punished her with a brutality that was mostly only ever borne out by Angus, but somehow he still ended up being in the position to make her feel like she could get away. Of the five men, Scott was the only one who Jessica had had two opportunities to kill. She was certain that there would be no future opportunities.

Jessica pushed the thought from her mind. Any thought of Scott made Jessica feel like she would hyperventilate. She desperately wanted a distraction. She had tuned Riley out, but she managed to catch a word that made Jessica focus on his conversation again. 

Puppies. She was sure she'd heard Riley say, "puppies". She had to have been imagining it. What would a bully like Riley have to do with puppies. But then she'd heard it again causing her to involuntarily look over at Riley.

"... that's right ..." Riley said into the phone, pausing when he saw Jessica look over. 

Jessica shifted her gaze back to the ceiling and worked hard at calming her heart. It thudded against her chest and for a moment she thought he wouldn't continue his conversation. But then she heard what sounded like a sigh, before he said, "there should be a litter around that time. I keep the bitches on a six to nine month cycle. No ... no it can't be earlier." Jessica's breath caught. It was that tone. The hardness of it, the coldness. Riley used that tone on her constantly and usually following closely behind that tone came pain. Pain from Riley, but also pain from the others. She knew now why he terrified her so much. He was the leader. He gave the orders. And when she angered him, she earned pain from all of the men.

" Listen," Riley continued, "if you're looking for a puppy mill you've come to the wrong place. The dogs need at least a six month break between puppies. If you can't wait, please feel free to go elsewhere ..."

Jessica thought over Riley's words. It struck her as odd that Riley had an ounce of humanity in him. But then, perhaps it wasn't that surprising. Regardless of the physical pain that Riley inflicted on her, he never touched her sexually. Unlike Angus and Josh. That had to count for something. But still he terrified her. Without thinking Jessica looked toward Riley again. Her heart caught in her throat. He no longer had the phone, he was just sitting, staring at her with an expression that Jessica didn't care to decipher. She snapped her eyes back to the ceiling. God she was a coward. Unless provoked into such anger that Jessica prayed that she could shoot daggers with her eyes, she couldn't bear to look any of them in the eye. 

She wished that she could be even the least bit menacing. Scare them as much as they scared her. But she couldn't do it. She squeezed her eyes shut. The words, 'Please leave me alone .... Please leave me alone ..." repeated in her mind.

Riley watched Jessica squeeze her eyes shut. He didn't know why, but he managed to be surprised each time Jessica reacted to him with such disgust. Brainwashing, an interesting idea of Jim's. But he was fresh out of chatter with which to warm Jessica up to him and he felt like any further attention that he could pay to her would only end in the opposite effect. All he felt like doing was forcing her to be what he wanted. Forcing her to obey him. Forcing her to like him. And she was in no physical condition for that.

Instead, he'd have to content himself with looking at her and daydreaming. He didn't allow himself the luxury of it often, mostly because it seemed futile and a waste of energy, but he had nothing better to do now. 

What would it be like if Jessica actually liked him? Maybe even loved him? Like his mother had loved his father? She would want to come to him. Want his attention. Want him to touch her ... want him to make love to her. That creepy, old pervert feeling came over him again. Despite being over eighteen she had the young innocent look and personality. He hoped to eventually see her as mate material.

Maybe, since they seemed unable to kill her, it could eventually happen. But, before any of that could happen, Scott would be home, and there would be punishment to mete out. 

Riley looked down at his hands. He knew he'd have to do it. By shooting Scott, Jessica had guaranteed a beating from every one of them. Maybe she wouldn't survive that. But she had survived every other beating they'd given her. Riley balled his hands into fists. He wondered how Angus could stand to hit her with his hands ... fists. Riley used a belt. It somehow seemed less savage, less personal. Asses were meant to be whipped. Lord knew he'd had his whipped enough times by his father. But punching, slapping. He shook his head. None of the other men seemed to use their fists ... just Angus. 

Riley opened and closed his hands. He felt his resolve falter. Now that he'd considered alternative scenarios with Jessica, other than the one he'd had in mind up until a few days ago, one that ended with a bullet in Jessica's brain, he had less of a desire to hurt her and more of a desire to control her. 

And then he pictured Angus' angry face glaring down at Jessica. Riley realized that it would be easy to let Angus be the bad guy. Let Angus mete out the justice that Riley knew needed to be administered to Jessica. 

"I'm an asshole," Riley muttered to himself. No, he couldn't, wouldn't take the easy way out. He'd be just as dedicated to punishing Jessica as the others.

And there was no way around it. Scott would demand retribution and based on principle alone, Riley had to pay it. But then afterwards. What could be done then? 

Riley closed his eyes and tried to imagine what Jessica's smile would look like. He'd never seen her smile. He imagined that it would be beautiful. Well. If things ever got there. If she survived the next few days, and ever got to the point that there was a chance that she'd want them ... him, he knew what had to be done. He was an expert at dog training, and the key to dog training was repetition. And reward. If a dog repeated a behavior and was rewarded for it enough ... it would learn. If the opportunity ever presented itself, that's what they'd have to do. Train her.

Riley smiled as he imagined Jessica walking beside him, holding his hand. Moving into his embrace. Smiling, laughing, loving. And then he saw her move to Jim, then Josh, Scott, Angus. Kissing them, loving them. 

And he felt relief when the jealousy that had begun to grow, disappeared. He was as happy for the other men as he was for himself. Would the others react the same way? 



A gentle snoring brought Riley out of his thoughts. He looked over at Jessica. She'd fallen to sleep, her face tilting toward him. When she slept she looked like an angel. 

Riley considered going to bed too, but knew it wouldn't be long before her nightmares began. Maybe if he got her through the first few bouts she'd settle down for the night. He settled back in the chair and went back to day dreaming. 

The next morning Jessica was on the sofa, back leaning against the arm of the sofa. She was tired. Her nightmares caused extra fatigue in her current physical condition. She was so tired that she didn't bother with the usual stand-off about eating. 

She accepted about five forkfuls of egg that Jim fed her before refusing to open her mouth again. Jim exhaled as if her not eating was actually hurting him somehow. Jessica almost laughed at that. She felt like telling him that if he really wanted to do her a favor, he'd give her five or six cups of coffee. 

Jessica closed her eyes as she imagined the look on his face if she did request the coffee. She snickered at the thought and opened her eyes to find Jim watching her. His head cocked to the side, uncertainty in his expression. Jessica looked down. She had to be really tired to make such a stupid mistake. There was absolutely nothing funny here ... nothing.

"Did she just laugh?" Josh's voice asked from Jessica's right. Jessica's groaned. Darn it. Had they all seen it? Riley and Angus too? She was afraid to look around. 

"I think so," Jim replied. Jessica waited for the tirade that was sure to come from Angus and/or Riley, but nothing came. Josh took Jessica's chin and turned her face toward him. Jessica felt relief rush over her as it appeared that neither Riley nor Angus were around.




Lisa Ch. 02: Consequences



"What's so funny Jessica?" Josh asked and moved his face around to keep it in her line of sight as she lowered her eyes. "I could sure use a good laugh."

Jessica looked at Josh and was surprised to see that he seemed to genuinely want to know. She detected no hint of anger or sarcasm in his voice or demeanor. Jessica tried to look away again, but again Josh moved with her line of vision.

"How 'bout you tell me your joke and I'll tell you one of mine?" he asked. He held his breath when it looked like Jessica might actually be considering it. After several seconds of silence Jim came into view behind Josh's shoulder.

"Josh tells a really good joke Jessica. I think you'd really find it funny ..." 

Jessica wavered. For a moment, Jessica wanted nothing more than something hilarious to laugh at. But then the front door opened and Riley came in. 

"What's going on?" he asked his voice reflecting the panic he felt at seeing Josh and Jim huddled around Jessica like they were. And in that moment Jessica's expression transformed from one of cautious optimism to pure fear. 

Josh and Jim looked at one another, deflated. Jessica had been on the verge of telling them her joke ... she'd been that close, they were sure of it. And now the moment was gone.

"Guys! What the hell happened!" Riley demanded when they did not reply.

"Nothing, everything's fine." Jim replied, unable to hide the disappointment he felt.

"Sure sounds like it," Riley said, his voice thick with sarcasm. He eyed Jessica who sat, eyes downcast, and then Jim with the plate full of eggs. 

"She's not eating again?" Riley demanded.

"She ate fine." Jim said getting up and going to the kitchen, dropping the plate into the sink.

"Right ..." Riley said, looking to Josh for confirmation that his guess was right.

"No, really ..." Josh said, sitting back on the sofa and glancing over at Jessica. "She ate. Jim and I were just ..." Josh faltered unable to come up with a plausible explanation for why they were huddled over her the way they had been.

"She had an eyelash in her eye." Jim jumped in. "She couldn't get it out. There was a lot of blinking ... eye watering ..." he added when Riley looked at him like he had two heads.

"And she let you get it out?" 

"'Let' is not a really accurate term. She's not really in a position to argue." Jim said.

"Okay." Riley said. He shrugged and seemed satisfied with the explanation. "I gotta go into town. Jim, can you come with me?"

"Yeah. Sure." Jim looked at Jessica again. He was glad Josh had been here too, to validate the fact that she had actually made a sound that at least somewhat resembled a laugh. Had he been alone, he would have been unsure. That was all interesting. Very interesting. 

As he followed Riley out the door, he wondered what would happen when Scott returned. 

He had gone to Caleb's and done his best to explain to Scott what they were doing with Jessica ... the brainwashing attempt. In hopes that Scott would consider doing the same thing and perhaps go easier on her when he returned. But Scott hadn't said much. Just squinted at Jim as he spoke, as if he were speaking a foreign language that Scott was trying to interpret. In truth, Scott was very much within his rights to even go so far as to kill Jessica when he returned. That thought stopped Jim in his tracks. None of them, not, Riley, Angus, Josh nor he himself were able to actually pull the trigger on Jessica, but Scott might very well be able to. And might very well do it. 

'Shit!' Jim swore to himself and looked back at the house. 

"Are you coming?" Riley called from the car window. He was already in the driver's seat, car running.

Jim got in the car.

"What's wrong with you?" Riley asked while backing out of the driveway.

"What if Scott decides to kill her?"

Riley had stopped to change gears but now sat looking at Jim with a blank expression. 

"He might. Not much we can do about that." Riley said.

"I went to see him yesterday. To try and explain what we are doing."

"Jim ..." Riley interrupted in a tone that made it clear he was not impressed.

"Just so he knew ... so he could think it over a little before he came home."

"I bet he appreciated that."

Jim stared out of the windshield as Riley sped down the roadway.

After a few minutes of silence Riley glanced over at Jim.

"So? What did he say?"

"Nothing. Just kept staring at me."

"Probably trying to figure out what planet you came from." Riley said with a laugh. "I know how he feels."

"Ha, ha." Jim replied, in no mood for joking around.

"Look. He'd be within his rights."

"I know ..." Jim said, the dejection in his tone clearly reflecting his mood.

Riley did a double take. He looked back and forth from the road and Jim a few times, surprised by how much Jim was affected. Then he realized that all of his own daydreaming about Jessica and the future would be down the tubes too.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not thrilled about it either. But to be fair, if Jessica had shot me I'd probably kill her. And I swear to you Jim, if she ever succeeds in escaping, I'll hunt her down and this time I won't hesitate to pull the trigger."

"Yeah. I think that's the worse part. I would too. We all would. So why should Scott be any different? It's too bad, because I can sense changes coming Riley. I think we're close to things getting a lot better with Jessica. I'm sure you've considered the possibilities ... if we can ... can get her to like it here."

Riley nodded. 

"I don't know how likely that is Jim." Riley said, thinking about the previous night. "Last night, Jessica was having nightmare after nightmare. She barely slept."

"That's why she looked so wrecked this morning." Jim said. And then he forced a laugh. "Well I guess that means she's healing. Physically anyway. When she was with me she was so out of it she didn't dream. She was practically unconscious."

"I guess we shouldn't get our hopes up too much." Riley said.

This time Jim was taken by surprise. He glanced at Riley and couldn't help but smile. Despite the façade Riley put on, Riley had hopes too. Now if Scott refrained from killing her, maybe things could get better.

"Maybe we should just make sure that there are no loaded guns around when Scott comes home." Jim suggested.

"Sure. We can do that. It may actually go further toward saving Scott's life than Jessica's. He seems to have a knack for being a sitting duck when Jessica is involved."

"When do you think he'll be home?" Jim asked.

Riley shrugged. "Could be tomorrow, could be a month. Whenever Caleb feels comfortable enough to let him go, and when Scott feels good enough to come home."

Jim nodded. So there was no real timeline. There had to be a way to calm Scott down. But how?



Later that night, Josh was pacing at the foot of his bed. Jessica lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling with a steadfast stare. Josh paused to look at her for a moment and then paced again. He was excited. He'd been excited all day. Finally he had Jessica to himself but for once sex with her was not an option. Her physical state made it nearly impossible, and without the option, Josh's libido went into neutral without any problem. 

So, as far as letting her recover, that was one problem gone. 

The second problem had been coming up with something to do with her instead of sex. Jim had said to talk to her about something, and Josh had been unable to think of anything to fit the bill. And then this morning the answer was provided for him, by Jessica herself. She'd laughed. 

Kind of. In a strangled, garbled, distant cousin of a laugh way, she'd laughed. And then he knew that his favorite past time would probably be ideal for trying to find some common ground with her. 

Comic books. He had tons of them. And whenever he had the night to himself, he'd spend his time reading them. Or sketching. He liked to draw. But there was no way in hell he was showing her his drawings. They were far too personal ... private.

So now the question was, which comic would she like him to read to her. He grabbed the stack from his bedside table and climbed onto the bed beside Jessica.

Jessica tensed. And it hurt. So Josh was going to go ahead and violate her. Now and later. She had expected that from Angus, more than Josh, but if she had to pick one of them as a preferred rapist to live up to her expectations, it was Josh. It didn't keep her stomach from turning as he settled down on the bed next to her and pressed up against her.

"What do you prefer?" he asked, "Green Lantern, Spiderman, Batman, Archie? I've got Wolverine too ... somewhere in here." He waved a handful of magazines in front of Jessica while searching through another pile that lay next to him on the bed.

Jessica blinked. Her body was so rigid, preparing for his advance that she could barely turn her head to look at the pages waving in front of her.

"Here it is ..." he finally said and added another magazine to the assortment in his right hand. Switching hands he turned up against her, propped his head on his bent arm and looked back and forth between Jessica and the magazines. "So, which one do you want me to read to you?" He asked in an almost playful manner.

Despite the voice in her head that kept telling her to look away from him, not to encourage him, Jessica couldn't. Josh's huge, muscled body, and severely etched face seemed in congruence with the boyish way that he asked the question, and looked at her in anticipation of an answer. Normally she wouldn't give one. Wouldn't even acknowledge his presence, but something about him reminded her of her brother right then. 

Marcus had the same kind of ... innocence about him when he'd been excited about something. The wrongness about finding any resemblance between her sweet, sweet brother, and this monster didn't elude Jessica, but right then she wanted nothing more than to be reminded of him. 

Jessica loved comics also, and it wasn't unusual for Marcus and her to read them together. She wasn't sure why Josh suddenly decided to do this. Right now she didn't care. 

She was interested. Josh could tell. There was an expression on her face that he'd never seen before. She licked her lips and looked like she wanted to say something, but just couldn't get it out.

"How 'bout I hold up one a magazine at a time and you nod when you see the one you want me to read? 'K, Green Lantern." Josh paused and then read the name of each magazine one after another. When it got to Wolverine Jessica nodded.

"Really?" Josh said in surprise. "I would've guessed you to be an Archie girl." He shook his head as he put the other magazines onto his side table.

The fact was, that Jessica was an Archie girl. But right now, here in this place, the last thing she wanted to hear about were girls and guys flirting and dating. Some good violence ... good versus evil, where good won every once in a while, sounded much more appealing.

Josh settled back down beside her, opened the magazine so she could see the pictures, and began to read.

They read one comic after another. On and on. 

Josh would pepper his reading with comments and observations of his own. And without thinking, Jessica would respond with a grunted acknowledgement or exaggerated eye rolling. She didn't seem to take notice, but Josh did. This had to be hands down one of the best nights he'd ever had. With Jessica, but also in his recent past. They were like old friends just hanging out.

It wasn't until Jessica yawned that Josh looked at his watch.

"Christ, it's 3 in the morning. I guess we should get some sleep."

"Hmmm." Jessica replied, but she was sorry it was time to stop. This had been a pleasant break. As pleasant as the time she and Jim had spent, Jim playing his guitar, and then them watching TV together. 

Josh put the magazine away, pulled the blankets over them, turned out the light and without giving it much thought, brushed his lips over her forehead. "Good night." He mumbled as he drifted off to sleep. 

Jessica's eyes were heavy. As they closed, she hoped that it was late enough and that Josh was tired enough that he wouldn't ruin the night by waking her later to abuse her.  



"There you are!" Angus exclaimed the next morning when Josh placed Jessica on the sofa. "We were starting to think she'd murdered you in your sleep!"

"That's not funny!" Josh said straightening.

"It's almost noon Josh, what did you expect us to think?" Riley asked.

Jim was observing Jessica and was pleased to see that she not only looked physically better, but something else seemed different too. She looked, relaxed. Despite the fact that she was in the worst physical condition probably since she'd been with them, she was the most relaxed he could ever remember seeing her.

"They're kidding Josh." Jim said, "If we'd really thought anything was happening we would've broke down your door."

Angus had been watching Jessica too and seemed to notice the change also.

"Got a good night's rest, did you?" he asked. For some reason the fact that something Josh did made this kind of a change in Jessica, even as small as it was, ignited an anger within him. 

Jessica caught his tone, chanced a glance at him, snapped her head down when she saw him staring at her, and all traces of relaxation were gone.

"As a matter of fact we did!" Josh replied anger growing in him. Angus' tone alone riled him, but just to see Jessica revert in a moment like that, just like she had when Riley'd walked in the previous day, frustrated him. He caught a glimpse of Jim glaring at Angus, obviously feeling the same frustration that he did.

"Guys ..." Riley said, "let's cool it."

"I've got work to do!" Angus grunted as he kicked back his chair and stomped out the door.

Riley looked after Angus, and then back at Josh and Jim. 

"What the hell is up with you guys? You have to stop your arguing!" 

"Tell him that!" Josh snapped, "He's the one always picking the fights!" 

"It takes two to fight Josh ..." Riley began but then noticed Jessica. She was still sitting with her head lowered, but every once in a while her eyes would flick up. Lord knew what she thought of all this infighting. They shouldn't be having these kinds of conversations around her. "Forget it for now. We'll have a meeting about it later." 'When Jessica can go in the basement.' He added to himself.

"Fine. I've gotta go take care of the horses." Josh mumbled.

Riley shook his head as he watched Josh stomp out the door.

"You've got her? I've got work to do with the dogs." Riley asked Jim. 

"Sure, no prob." Jim replied. As Riley closed the door behind him, Jim was gratified to see Jessica visibly relax. 

"So, are you hungry?" he asked. "Of course not, stupid question." He added when Jessica gave him the 'yeah, right.' Look.

"I don't suppose you'd care to let me in on what you found so funny yesterday?" 

Jessica gave him the same look.

"You know ... I did let you in on a secret of mine. A pretty big secret. I trusted you with it. You can trust me with this."

Jessica paused. Jim had a point.

"It wasn't that funny." Jessica whispered. It felt odd to speak.

Jim's face lit up and he shifted forward in his seat.

"Try me."

Jessica hesitated. And then the sound of a car pulling into the driveway caught Jim's attention. 

"What the ..." he said standing up.

Car doors opened. 

"We would've come to get him." Although muffled, Riley's terse voice carried inside.

"He insisted." Someone else said.

"Fine, you can go now ..." Riley replied.

"Let me help you." Josh said, followed by what sounded like shuffling on the steps to the door. 

"Shit ..." Jim whispered as he looked at the door. 

It wasn't until Jessica heard Angus say "payback time!" with more enthusiasm than she'd ever heard him say anything that she realized with horror what was going on.

The door swung open and there, hanging on to Josh for support was the confirmation of Jessica's fear. Scott and Josh paused in the doorway. He looked awful. After a moment of triumph, she'd gotten a little revenge for her family, Jessica realized that this probably meant even more pain for her.

Scott scanned the room and when his eyes fell on Jessica his face contorted. Fear shot through her. 

"Take her to my room!" Scott ordered. Jim didn't move. His mind raced, trying to think of how to stop Scott, to diffuse the situation. But Scott locked his eyes on Jim and ordered, "Now Jim!" 

Jim nodded. There wasn't much he could do to help her now. But by the look of Scott, he wasn't going to have enough strength to do much to her. Mind you, it didn't take a lot of strength to pull a trigger. Jim scooped Jessica up into his arms and turned back to watch Scott shuffle into the living room with Josh. Angus and Riley followed. Angus looked like a kid at Christmas.

Scott winced and clutched his chest, where the bandage was wrapped.

"Jesus Christ Scott!" Riley said, "You look like shit. This could have waited a bit longer, till you were stronger."

"No." Scott whispered. "No it couldn't." and he gave Angus such a withering look that Angus actually recoiled.

"I'm sorry Scott ... " Angus mumbled. "I thought you were dead. I never would have ... I would have waited for you if I thought ..."

"Just take me to my room." Scott said to Josh.

As they shuffled forward, Jim realized that he hadn't moved. He rushed ahead of them, Jessica rigid in his arms. But he was no longer that worried about her. Instead he feared that the payback would actually hurt Scott more than her.

"Cuff her to the bed," Scott ordered as he and Josh followed Jim and Jessica into the room. Jim did so and then stood watching as Scott dropped on to the other side of the bed beside Jessica and lay down.

"Thanks guys, you can go now." Scott muttered.

"Are you sure?" Josh asked, "You don't look so good ... "

"I'm sure. Go on." Neither Jim nor Josh moved.

Scott rolled his head in their direction.

"Really, I'm fine. I'll call when I need you, 'k?"

"Behave yourself," Josh said to Jessica who lay still beside Scott. Only her eyes shifted in Scott's direction. "Even if he can't do much to you now, we can ... Angus can. So don't get any ideas."

Jessica didn't look suitably scared anymore. She did have something of a relieved look about her until Josh mentioned Angus' name.

"She'll be fine." Scott mumbled, "Just go."

When the door closed behind Jim and Josh, silence hung in the air.

Jessica could hear Scott's labored breathing. 

"You look like hell." Scott finally said. "Worse than me even. Get some sleep and we'll talk after."

Jessica turned her gaze to the ceiling. Surely he was joking about napping, but within seconds Scott was snoring beside her. Jessica had no issues with that. Closing her eyes she drifted off to sleep.

Jessica awoke to find Scott staring down at her. He'd gotten up, and pulled a chair over to her side of the bed. 

"Angus has fists like mallets ..." he said, leaning forward to run a finger over the bruises on Jessica's face. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Jessica let a moment or two of silence go by before giving a slight nod. She couldn't decipher the expression on Scott's face. It looked like a strange combination of anger, sadness and shame. A piece of hair had fallen over one of Jessica's eyes. When Scott reached over to move it, Jessica flinched.

"Relax, I'm just moving the hair out of your eye." Scott said quietly. He tucked it behind Jessica's ear and couldn't help but rub his thumb over her cheek bone, tracing the bruise that covered her cheek, from under her eye to her jaw line.

"I know what you expect me to do ... what they expect me to do." Scott continued. "But I'm not going to." He locked his gaze with Jessica's. 




Lisa Ch. 02: Consequences



Neither one was able to look away. "What you did, you did in self-defense. War is war, and I would have done the same. Well, maybe not exactly the same. I probably would have stuck with the first shot you had. The one that was directly over my heart." 

Jessica blinked. Was she dreaming? 

"That's right." He said. "I know that you missed on purpose. I know that you missed Jim on purpose. He told me. So the deal is this. I am not going to punish you for this ... and neither are any of the other men. I won't let them. Let's just pretend this never happened. Fine with you?"

Jessica nodded. She had to be dreaming. This seemed so surreal. Scott's pale face ... he looked like he was about to fall over, and his ... forgiveness. There was no other way to word it. He was forgiving her for shooting him. Relief flooded through her, but it was short lived. Angus' anger riddled face came forward from her memory. Even if Scott forgave her, Angus never would. And Scott would be too weak to stop him from hurting her.

Scott's gasp interrupted her thoughts. She didn't think it was possible, but Scott was even paler now. He looked like he'd fall off the chair.

"You need help ..." Jessica whispered. Scott looked at her in surprise.

"She speaks ..." Scott whispered as he sagged to the right.

"Call for help ..." she replied.

"I ..." Scott began, "can't ..." and he disappeared from Jessica's line of sight and a thud confirmed that he'd fallen.

"Scott?" Jessica asked. But there was no response. Jessica looked at the door and hoped that someone had heard the thud and would come through at any moment. Seconds ticked by and no one came.

"Scott ... can you hear me?" Jessica tried again. Nothing.

Panic gripped her. He was going to die, she could feel it. He would die, the others would think she killed him somehow, and Angus would take the vengeance he'd wanted. There was only one thing she could do, call for help herself.

Jessica closed her eyes and tried to get herself under control. When she finally had a grip on the panic that threatened to consume her, she tilted her head back and yelled as hard as she could, "Jim!"



Lisa Ch. 03: Learning



Authors note: I receive feedback via private feedback. If you would like me to reply please leave your email address.

To be continued ...

(Six months later)

"Morning, " Riley said, pulling the magazine from Jessica's hands. She obviously hadn't heard him come in because she looked up at him in surprise. Her face contorted in a moment of surprise and fear, she snapped her head down, chin to her chest. 

Angus and Riley had always scared Jessica, much more than the other men did. But ever since the men had a strange change of direction in their dealings with her, Angus and Riley scared her even more. She couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"What have we here?" he asked flipping through the pages of the magazine he'd taken. It was a comic book. 

"What happened?" Josh asked, returning from the kitchen.

"Nothing," Riley replied, tossing the magazine to him. "I believe this is yours."

Josh looked at the cover.

"It's Jessica's," Josh replied, holding it out to Jessica. Head bent, she didn't see him. He placed it on her lap.

"Really," Riley said. He moved to the kitchen. It was early and he hadn't had breakfast yet. Surely that had to account for the emptiness he felt in his belly. What the hell was she doing reading a comic book? Things had changed considerably, but he hadn't realized they'd changed this much.

Looking back he saw Jessica pick up the magazine and leaf through the pages until she'd found the one she'd been reading last. As if neither he nor Josh were there, she resumed her reading, her brown hair hanging in ringlets around her face, her expression casual as if she hadn't been interrupted at all. Was it just him? It was if everything, yet nothing, was different.

The front door opened and the rest of the men came in. Each carried a rifle, which they placed into the gun rack. 

"Morning Jess, " Scott and Jim said walking by Jessica. Jessica raised her head.

There was a barely perceptible nod of Jessica's head in response. 

Riley was again disturbed by how much the plan was off track when Angus followed behind Jim. Jessica snapped her head down and sat statue still.

That was the last straw.

"Josh," Riley said to Josh who sat on the sofa next to Jessica, apparently reading a comic book of his own. 

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Take Jessica downstairs."

Josh blinked at him and didn't move.

"Am I speaking in a foreign language or something?" Riley demanded. "Take her downstairs."

"But it's nine in the morning," Josh replied, "we're not meeting till tonight."

Riley stared at Josh. It only took a moment before Josh jumped to his feet.

"Come on Jessica," he said. 

Taking the magazine from her hands, he tossed it on the sofa and then led her by the arm to the basement door. They disappeared behind it. The basement was the one place Jessica was guaranteed not to escape from ... extra precautions were practiced anyway.

"You sure she can't come eavesdrop at the door?" Riley asked when Josh reappeared.

"I handcuffed her to the sofa ... " Josh replied.

"Good. Sit down," he said to Josh and Scott, who were the only ones still standing around the table.

"What's up?" Scott asked sliding into an empty chair.

"I've been re-evaluating, and I don't think things with Jessica are where I want them to be."

"She hasn't made an escape attempt in months," Jim said.

"Not good enough," Riley replied.

"What more can we expect from her?" Scott asked, "I don't know about you, but I'm glad she isn't taking every possible opportunity to scratch my eyes out."

"Now that's your problem," Riley said, "that's the problem you all have. We agreed that our ultimate goal is complete compliance from Jessica, heart and soul, she needs to be ours."

Scott shook his head as he looked at the barred window near the front door. To minimize the chance of escape the men had changed the windows to open in, and added bars. It was too hot to not have open windows, and given their livelihood, they were likely to need alternate exists from the house, so the bars they installed had combination locks so they could be removed in an emergency. The window stood open now, a slight breeze blowing in. 

"What can we do about that?" Josh asked, "You've said no to drugs ... we've stopped talking about her family. Knowing Jessica, this is going to take a long time. The first six months we had her were a nightmare. The way she cried, fought like a wildcat, and schemed to escape. And yeah, the next six months were quieter. She cried less, fought less, but still schemed. But now, who knows what state she is really in. She barely cries anymore. Never fights anymore. But does she scheme? That a question none of us can really answer. It's taken over two years to get to this ... " Josh continued, "it could be another five before we can truly trust her."

Josh looked at Angus who was slumped on the kitchen chair, arms folded, scowling. He'd snickered when Josh had spoken. When he realized that they were all looking at him, he leaned forward, elbows on his legs, hand clasped in front of him.

"We are never going to be able to trust her. Unless we fry her brain ... which for some reason Riley's not willing to do, we can never trust her. And to be honest, even if we drugged the shit out of her, I would not trust her."

"What kind of a victory would it be if she capitulated because we'd drugged her?" Riley said, "We've made some progress ... we just have to speed things up."

"By speed things up, " Jimmy said, "I sure as hell hope you don't mean beating the crap out of her. We haven't gotten this far with violence."

"We're painfully aware of your take on this," Angus muttered to Jim.

"Yes, Jim, just what do you see as the secret to your success?" Riley asked and he couldn't keep a hint of jealousy out of his voice. 

"I'd say getting rid of that damn leash was a good start," Jim replied. His cheeks flushed pink as old emotions surfaced. He had fought long and hard for that, despite Riley and particularly Angus' resistance.

"That's right, " Scott jumped in. He wasn't in the mood for a repeat of the turmoil that had surrounded that decision. The harness and leash had been discarded months ago and as Jim had predicted, she had not made any attempts to escape since. 

"Something has changed with her. She's been ... friendlier ... lately." Scott continued. On reflection he realized that she was likely responding to his actions. It had never occurred to him that things would turn out like this. He never thought they'd keep her. He never thought he'd like her, never thought he'd share her with the other men. But that's how it had turned out. 

"She's duping you," Angus shouted at Scott as he sprang from his chair. "Have you forgotten what she's done to you? One morning we're going to find you with your throat slit Scott ... " Angus said jabbing his finger in Scott's face.

"Knock it off," Riley said stepping between Scott and Angus. "This has all been a good start. What we need now is compliance on her part, and not only on things that she's forbidden to do. Now we need to focus on getting her to be proactive. To get her to behave in certain ways in certain situations over and over again. Once she's done that long enough, human nature will dictate that she will begin to believe that she is ours."

"What ways?' Josh asked. He, much like Scott and Jim had felt things improving with Jessica. There was still an element of distrust. She wasn't allowed to be alone. She had to be watched at all times. But there always seemed to be something impeding progress. For his part, he knew that the fact that he couldn't fully trust her, kept him from letting his guard down. He suspected that it was the same for her. It seemed that when he and she were alone, things were better then when they were with the other men. He had no idea how this could be changed ... but if there was a way, he knew Riley would find it.  

"It all begins with expectations. Until now we've worked on getting her to not run away, to not fight us at every turn. I agree with Scott, that something has changed with Jessica. She's not trying to escape at every possible opportunity. That's great. But we've also tried implementing codes of behavior for her that we haven't been enforcing."

"Like?" Angus replied. 

He sounded exasperated. Riley looked at him and paused. Riley knew that in order for this to make sense to Angus, he'd have to frame it in that context of how it would help get pay back for their families.

"What do you think Stewart would appreciate more in atonement for his death?" Riley asked, and saw Angus' face constrict at the mention of his brother's name. 

"Two years ago we enacted what we had hoped would be suitable revenge for our families," Riley continued. "Even though there weren't many of us left, our hatred made us more powerful than the small army they gathered to protect them. We attacked Jessica's parents and her family. We'd meant to kill them all, but somehow Jessica survived. I think that was a sign. We brought Jessica home with the intent of breaking her. Now we can do more than just break her. Think about it ... her parents had big plans for her. Remember the research we did on her? They'd expected her to go to West Point. They were expecting her to be one of, if not the first, woman President of the United States. We have a chance here to make her ours. Imagine that ... going from a potential Presidential candidate to serving us. To catering to our every desire."

Riley looked to each of the men. 

"I do remember that Riley," Scott said. "And I remember that we had laughed our fool heads off at the thought that Jessica could go anywhere near West Point much less be a future President. But Jessica has turned out to be surprisingly strong. She's not just rolling over because we've told her to."

Riley dropped his chin to his chest. And then nodded. 

"Riley ... don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy sticking it to her over and over again ... " Angus replied, "but I don't know if using her as our sex toy has really helped in breaking her spirit." 

Despite himself Angus couldn't help but be impressed by that very fact. Until just recently, when the leash was removed on promise of better behavior from her, Jessica's level and intensity of resistance had not diminished. 

"And that's why we have to aim for something more ... total submission. We've told her that she is to give us each a kiss first thing in the morning, before going to bed at night. We've told her to look us in the eye, to answer our questions ... verbally and audibly. Does she do any of that?" He looked at each of the men. They all shook their heads. 

"The answer for Stewart," Riley said looking at Angus, "and the rest of our loved ones, who we have lost, is that Jessica become not only physically but mentally and emotionally, ours. The more she is forced to comply with behaviors that cause her to actively do something rather than passively comply, the more she will be forced into that position."

"Then Sean and the others can eat crow too," Scott added. 

"I wouldn't hold my breath," Riley replied. "Even if this all works to plan, things'll never be like they were with Sean and the others. Contact with them, or anyone from the outside, will risk undoing anything that we accomplish with Jessica. She can in no way be reminded of her family and the circumstances that got her here. You all understand that right?" 

He looked from Jim, to Scott, to Josh. Angus he wasn't worried about. 

And while he and Angus were just as happy living in a little log house, set deep into their property, far from any road, any neighbor, he knew the others would choose otherwise if they could pick their ideal situation. They were frequent visitors to others in the clan, and even town. 

He looked back at Scott. He just realized that Scott had used to go into town almost every night that he didn't have with Jessica. Somewhere along the way he had stopped. Actually, it seemed to stop after the shooting. Scott couldn't go to town while recovering ... he never seemed to pick up the habit again afterwards. But he still did like to check in on his horses.

"So Scott, your increasing urge to keep tabs on the horses you've trained needs to be put in check" Riley had continued. 

"And to be fair Riley, you keep tabs on any sick dogs you've treated," Jim said. 

"Thanks for pointing that out," Riley said, ready to cuff Jim. It seemed that the calmer things became with Jessica, the rougher they became with Jim. But in this case, Riley had to admit that as a self-taught vet, who also acted as a pseudo doctor for the men, Jessica, and in some extreme cases, others in the clan, he often felt compelled to follow-up on his "patients". "I think you get the point that I'm trying to make."

The men nodded. Despite contact for business with the outside world, or others in the clan, the only people they could trust were themselves. To a lesser extent it had been that way all of their lives. 

"Scott, are you going to be able to live with that? I know you used to like the company of ... friends, in town. " Riley asked, Scott was something of a lady's man.

Scott nodded. They had Jessica to share among themselves. And recently, he had begun to avail himself of the opportunity. 

"You two?" Riley asked Jim and Josh.

"Got it," Josh said. Jim nodded his agreement.

"But I think we'll have to do more than force Jessica to kiss us in the morning. We have to find a way to get her to feel that she belongs." Jim said.

"You work on that Jim, " Riley said unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice. "In the meantime, we're going to get her to follow the rules."

Jim shrugged. He'd have to keep on doing his own thing and work on Scott and Josh. He was getting somewhere with them. Despite Riley and Angus' rough edges, he knew that eventually he'd have them convinced also. Riley was an expert at training dogs. Behavior modification was his expertise ... but when it came to people, women, he was lacking. They both wanted the same thing in the end, whether Riley knew it or not. They both had the same goal. Regardless of what Riley and Angus believed, Jim wanted Jessica to capitulate also, but in a different way. 

They had all started with a common purpose, a common plan. The irony was that their initial plan was a long time forgotten. Jessica's spirit and resolve had kept her from capitulating, and at the same time earned Jim's respect. Though the others were loath to admit it, she'd earned theirs as well. That respect translated into a strange sense of affection. 

Riley didn't seem to realize that he made it abundantly clear that he had affection for her by changing the goal from having her shoulder the humiliation of her family, to having her forget her family, her past, who she had been. As frustrating as it was to have to work so hard at breaking Jessica's will, that was what endeared her to them. And that endearment was going to lead the men to wanting Jessica to feel as though she belonged with them. 

"Remember, we've had some success already. When we changed her name from Lisa to Jessica she'd fought that tooth and nail. Remember how good it felt when she finally acknowledged the new name. Victory will be ours." Riley finished. 

"Getting her to acknowledge a new name is not the same as getting her to forget who she is and how she got here," Josh said. How, could she forget? He knew he would never forget her screams in the middle of the night. 

"She'll never forget," Angus grumbled. "She'll find some way to escape."

"If she escapes, we'll find her and kill her. That's all there is to it." Riley said. 

"Amen," Angus said.

Josh looked from Jim to Scott to see if they had as hard a time believing that as he did. Neither Riley nor Angus had been able to kill her two years ago, nor when she shot Scott. What made them think they could now? 

He looked down at the comic book he held in his hand. Here was the one thing that had got him an in with Jessica. They shared a love of comic books. When they were alone, things were much different than when they were around the others. 

Okay, Jim and Scott didn't seem to affect things much, but Riley and Angus made a big difference in how he and she related to one another. He knew the same was true for Jim, he'd seen him playing cards with Jessica before. He knew that Scott was always giving Jessica updates on the horses, that seemed to be a bond for them ... But Riley and Angus had nothing. He hoped for Jessica's sake, that Riley's new plan would work. If not, there could be a lot more pain coming for her. 

"Since that's agreed, you can go get Jessica now Josh," Riley said.

 Josh disappeared into the basement. Riley looked at the comic book that lay on the sofa. Since when had Jessica owned anything? Josh had said that it was Jessica's. 

Riley checked himself. There were other things to worry about than this. Jessica had sat on the sofa reading a comic rather than formulating some new plan to escape. That was good enough for Riley.



Jessica pulled hard against the cold steel of the handcuff. It didn't matter, she knew from bitter and long experience that there was no way out of the basement. 

At least now she had an excuse to just sit and think, rather than run around the basement frantically pulling on the barred windows, and trying to find a loose brick in the foundation. 

She laughed despite herself. As far as she could figure it was almost two years since her family had been murdered and she'd come to this disgusting place. 

For a year she'd been put in the stupid basement and for the past few months she'd been off the leash and left untied. Without fail, every time she was free to move around, she would frantically search the same windows, the same walls, with the same outcome. 

It didn't seem to matter though, because she knew she'd do it again, the next time she was uncuffed. She raised her eyes to the ceiling and wished she could get some indication as to whether her family forgave her for the concessions she'd made to get herself free of the leash. She felt even guiltier because she knew that under no circumstances would she let herself be put back on the leash. 

"Sorry," she whispered out loud. 

She couldn't help but find the little bits of happiness that she was getting with Jim, Scott and Josh, likable. If she pretended enough, she could actually forget that these three men had anything to do with her family's deaths, with her own ordeal. 

"I'm weak ... " she muttered, dropping her head against the back of the sofa. 

Her eyes landed on the universal gym that sat in the middle of the basement floor. 

She spent hours, daily, sitting on this sofa, watching Jim, Scott and Josh work out. Riley and Angus used it as well, she knew, but she was never brought down to watch them.

An idea dawned on her. Rather than waste her time trying to find an exit where there wasn't one, maybe she could use the time on the universal gym. They always double bolted the basement door when they left her downstairs. She'd hear the bolts open, giving her plenty of time to get back to the sofa before one of them came down the stairs. 

She may be morally weak, but physically, she wouldn't have to be. 

How could she account for the sweat though? It was too easy. She could just pretend to be asleep and having a bad dream. She sweated like crazy when she dreamed about her family. She'd do it ... she'd have to make sure that she wasn't handcuffed though. Somehow, all of this would lead to her escape. She had to believe that. She heard the locks on the basement door tumble. Her heart raced. Couldn't they just forget her down there for a while ... forever maybe? 



Josh closed the basement door behind him and Jessica.

The men had settled around the table again, drinking coffee. Riley watched Jessica stand silently beside Josh. 




Lisa Ch. 03: Learning



"Bring her here Josh. Has she had breakfast yet?"

"Not yet," Josh replied, leading Jessica to the table by the arm. "We were going to work out before eating."

"I said good morning to you earlier Jessica, and your response was less than satisfactory. You've been told that you are expected to give us each a morning kiss and say good morning, I have yet to see you do that."

Jessica stood motionless, as if she hadn't heard a word. Jessica closed her eyes. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? 

Angus, who had been slouching, pulled himself up in his seat. Riley stared hard at Jessica, his teeth clenching tighter and tighter. His face grew red. 

"Morning kisses," Josh whispered to Jessica.

Jessica turned to Josh. He had dirty blonde hair, and brown eyes. As with the other men his body was bulging muscle. She felt the hard muscle as she laid her hand on his forearm for support. She forced her eyes up and looked at his thin, hard lips. He had stubble on his chin, just a light smattering of hair. She knew he would shave it off soon. The one thing she was thankful for with Josh was that unlike Angus with his sandpaper skin, Josh kept his face fairly smooth. At least his nightly assaults on her didn't add stubble burn to her suffering.

"Good morning," she muttered and tried to force her eyes to his. But Josh was leaning in to her lips already. Despite how hard his lips looked, when they landed on hers, they were soft, searching. For a moment she was afraid he'd slide his tongue into her mouth too. Instead, he abruptly moved away. Jessica looked down at his chest, it was heaving. In a moment he cleared his throat,

"Now the others ..." he said and nudged her toward the kitchen table. 

Jessica flicked her eyes up quickly and to her relief she saw Scott and Jim sitting just to her left. She went to Scott. He had brown hair and deep dark brown eyes. He, like the others, seemed larger than life, even sitting in a chair. They prided themselves on staying in shape, and through Scott's t-shirt and jeans, muscles bulged. She stopped in front of him. He'd shaven that morning, his face had a chiseled yet smooth look. 

Knowing how he looked, how he felt, in detail was the reason Jessica was terrified of Riley and Angus. She realized now that these new rules, their strange demands of her, brought her too far into their personal space. And that allowed Riley and Angus, particularly Angus, to terrify her in a far more personal way. Odd as it seemed, it was even worse than when he raped her.

Scott was looking intently at her when she peered up at him from her lowered brow. There seemed to be an urgency to his expression that caused Jessica to hesitate. She dropped her eyes. She felt his firm grip on her forearm. 

"Jessica," he said in a low voice. Something wasn't right, Scott usually saved that tone for the bedroom, when they were alone. Despite herself, she looked up. His lips formed a silent word, "Kiss". Jessica leaned into him, felt his chest like a brick wall beneath her hand, and kissed him on the lips. "Good morning," she muttered.

"Now Jim," he whispered into her ear when she stood in his embrace. She never thought there'd be a time when she'd actually feel safer in Scott's arms then standing on her own. But, here it was. 

At least she was going to go to Jim, and Jim still felt safe. She pushed away from Scott and moved to his left. 

Jim had blonde hair, blue eyes. He was the youngest of the men but despite his youthful exterior, he was just as solidly built. He didn't carry himself in the same way that the others did. Always clean shaven and more often then not, non-threatening, Jim was easy to willingly go to. 

Jessica kissed him on his lips and said good morning. Riley was to Jimmy's left and Jessica felt rooted to the spot. 

Riley had been drinking his coffee and watching Jessica as she made her way from Scott to Jim. 

"Go on," Jim urged, and pushed Jessica toward Riley. She took a step toward Riley, and paused. When her eyes moved to the floor Riley felt anger rising. He could take the most ill-tempered, high strung dog, and within hours have it obeying his every command instantly, but Jessica he'd had for years and she still couldn't follow one simple instruction. 

All she had to do was go over and kiss him on the lips, say good morning and move on. How fucking hard could that be? 

Jim had noticed Riley's reaction.

"Jess," he whispered behind her, "get over there!" and he gave her a push toward Riley. The push got her closer, but again she stopped. 

"Well," Riley said his voice low, but so hostile that as far as Jessica was concerned he may as well have been yelling. "It appears that someone can't live up to her end of the bargain. Perhaps we should start removing privileges ... like freedom from the leash ..."

Jessica sprung forward as if on a catapult and landed in Riley's embrace. She was not going to lose the little freedom she had. 

"I thought that might get your attention." Riley said. "For the last time. When you come in a room, you immediately make eye contact, go to each of us, and greet us with a kiss. I don't know what we have to do to get this simple thing drilled into your head, but I'm not reminding you again. Look at me!"

Jessica raised her eyes and tried to maintain contact with Riley's. Riley had black hair and steely black eyes. His face was always so hard set that it looked like it was nothing but an etching in stone. That was the most she'd heard him say to her in a very long time. 

She never really knew what he wanted from her. It seemed like there was some secret agenda he had and she was supposed to magically know how to meet it. 

On one hand, he wanted her to stay within the confines of some very vigorous rules. If she so much as batted her eye when she wasn't supposed to, he, or Angus, was all over her. But then, at the same time Jessica felt as though he was looking for some sort of spontaneity from her. She didn't know how she was expected to figure these things out, but then, she never had the desire to try. 

Her primary goal was to make things as difficult for the men as she could. She had to admit that in the past few months she had been less inclined to be difficult for Scott, Jim or Josh. But Riley and Angus, with their overbearing and cruel ways, still stirred the rebellious feelings within her. 

There was that ... and there was also the fact that both Riley and Angus scared the crap out of her. As she tried to maintain eye contact with Riley she grappled to use a trick she'd taught herself months earlier. The key to her success at getting off the leash. She had to reach deep down inside herself, and force a calmness to spread over her. Moments later she felt a fog setting in.  

"And the other thing?" Riley asked puckering his lips. 

If all Riley wanted was a kiss, what was the big deal, she wondered. There were worse things he could be asking of her. 

Jessica leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. She could see a smirk replace his puckered lips. She felt anger beginning to rise but she focused on smothering it. She pushed all thoughts from her mind, all knowledge of who she was, who Riley was, what the situation was, were gone. She felt her muscles begin to relax. 

He was still not fully satisfied with the eye contact, or the kiss. But he became aware of something that was in keeping with the comparison to his dog training. The more afraid the dogs were of him, the more obedient they were, but some had problems not in the obedience but in the execution of a command. It was hard to 'come' with their tails between their legs, and their asses and heads to the ground. This could be the case for Jessica, it would explain a lot.

"G ... good morning," Jessica managed. Oh yeah, he saw it now. He'd have to make it less terrifying for her to go to him. Maybe then the obedience would pick up. 

Ever since they'd turned their attention from using Jessica as a vehicle for revenge to molding her into an obedient, and willing participant, the men had changed the language they used. 

It was six months since they officially decided to drop any talk of payback for the evil of her parents, yet Riley had a hard time changing the script he used. Consequently, he tried to say as little as possible to her. 

He and Angus had discussed this, since Angus had the same problem. That meant that the times he did speak to her were usually times when he was administering discipline. 

Riley supposed it was difficult to willingly and obediently go to someone who never seemed to bother with you unless you did something wrong. He'd have to change that. Angus would have to change that. 

Neither one of them were easily adaptable.  

"I believe Angus is waiting," Riley said when Jessica hadn't moved. 

She turned to Angus, tried to look him in the eye also, and moved to him. 

Angus had strawberry blonde hair. More strawberry then blonde, but it was often hard to tell since he wore his favorite, grease stained, Harley baseball cap, back to front about 99.9% of the time. 

It always accompanied his overalls, which were also covered in automotive grease. Angus scent was forever mixed with the pungent smell of gasoline and oil. Even at his cleanest there seemed to be the lingering smell of grease monkey on him. 

The slightest whiff of Angus caused fear to grip Jessica. She fought hard to control her calm, but when she raised her eyes momentarily, the look on Angus' face made her begin to shake. 

His eyes which in their natural state were hazel, transformed to an eerie color of grey. His chin, always covered in strawberry blonde stubble was clenched. He stared at her as if he intended to eat her whole. It was the same look he had whenever he had his nights with her. She wrapped her arms around herself and could already feel the pain he would inflict on her. She dropped her eyes.

"I'm waiting!" he said. In that second Jessica decided that it was better to take what he planned to mete out now, then what he'd mete out if she made him angrier. With Angus, these kinds of subtleties made a difference. 

She leaned in and kissed his lips. Angus grabbed her by her arms and held her there. 

"Hmmm," he said, "not very convincing. Try again." 

Jessica leant in to his lips again and this time Angus locked his lips to hers. As he began to move away from her, Angus nipped her lower lip with his teeth. Tugging a little, he let go. "Now that's a kiss," he said and released her. 

Jessica stood motionless, unsure what to do next. 

Riley watched the exchange, and the more he thought about it, the more he was sure he'd struck upon something significant. Maybe it was time to sweeten the pot again. After all, removing the leash and letting her read books had worked wonders. 

"Come here Jessica," he said. Jessica wasted no time returning to him. Angus was always looking for some intimate act from Jessica. Were it Jim, Josh or Scott, it wouldn't be so hard, but with Angus and Riley, distance made her feel safe. And given the choice between Angus or Riley, she'd pick Riley any time. She was trembling when he pulled her onto his lap. 

"You know guys," he said, "I was thinking that maybe it's time to let Jessica outside a little. Maybe she could, I don't know, watch Scott work with the horses? Is that something that you'd like?" he asked.

Jessica forgot to breathe. Had she heard him correctly? He was going to let her out of the house that had imprisoned her for years? Not once since she'd been brought to their home, did she set foot outside the front door.

She could feel Riley's hands tightening on her arms. He was going to change his mind! She forced herself to nod. And when his hands didn't relax, she nodded harder.

"Well then, in order to get that, and keep your other privileges, you're going to have to really work on eye contact, kisses, and verbal responses. You know what we want Jessica, do it, and you'll keep these freedoms, and maybe earn more. Understand?"

Horses ... The word ricocheted through her mind. 

The constant behavioral landmines that she had to avoid with the men required her undivided attention, but despite that, she was bored a good part of the time. A change, any positive change, she'd embrace, even if it meant summoning all her courage to look into Riley's angry, hateful, eyes. 

She also felt for the first time like she had a very clear idea of what he wanted. Eye contact, kiss, verbal response. She could do that.

Jessica sat up and looked at Riley. "Yes, I understand Riley." She said. It was the first perfect answer he'd gotten from her, ever. 

"Anyone object?" he asked the others. 

Angus had planned on objecting strongly ... what was this trend they seemed to be following where Jessica was gaining more and more freedom yet giving nothing in return. 

But Jessica's response to Riley had surprised him. Though he knew he'd end up regretting it, he shook his head in response to Riley. 

The others did too.

"Well, there you go." Riley said. "Maybe you should say thank you. It looks like this may be your lucky day."

Jessica's eye contact had wavered momentarily, but she brought her eyes back to Riley's. "Thank you Riley." She said. 

She turned to Angus. Those grey eyes were hard to lock on to. They were strange on their own, strange color, strange criss-cross of light and dark patches of gray across the pupil, but there was always some kind of emotion behind them that Jessica couldn't quite decipher. Was it anger? Hatred? Impatience? It always seemed to intensify just before he did something frightening, like bite her lower lip. Jessica couldn't remember a time when she looked in those eyes and saw anything different. 

Her eyes kept slipping away but she managed to bring them back for a few seconds at a time , "Thank you Angus," she managed to say, clearly for a change. She thanked each of the men in the same way. 

Scott couldn't figure out how Riley'd come up with this, but he was pleased. Jessica would love spending time with the horses, and he'd love spending the time with her. 

She'd often asked about the horses. She'd never set foot near the animals in the years she'd been with the men, yet she knew their names, ages, colors. Any time the horses would come up in conversation, she had a million questions for him.

"Alright, let's get you fed then," Scott said to Jessica, and suddenly he had an idea. 

They'd had nothing but trouble getting her to eat properly. He remembered with distaste how early on, Jessica had tried to go on a hunger strike. He had personally forced food down her throat, and when they applied a steady course of coercion she had given it up. 

But ever since, she made a point of eating the bare minimum. Every meal involved some sort of fight over eating. 

"Maybe we should add eating properly to the list of expectations for helping with the horses." He said.

"That's brilliant!" Riley replied wondering why he hadn't thought of it himself. "If you want to go help Scott with the horses, you have to eat your breakfast, all of it. Jessica ..." Riley prompted when she had sat staring at her feet. "I"m talking to you. Look at me." 

Jessica forced herself to look up. "Do you understand what I just told you. Scott's going to give you some eggs, bacon, and toast. You're going to eat it all, or no horses today, got it?" 

Jessica nodded. Disappointment caused Riley's frustration level to rise. Screw the horses, screw sweetening the pot! If she couldn't abide by some simple rules ...

"Yes," Jessica replied, loud and clear. Riley paused and smiled. Maybe this would work after all. 

He gathered her in his arms and pulled her to him.

As usual, Jessica was initially as stiff as a board, but then in record time, Riley felt her relax. Maybe this was going to be his lucky day.

Jimmy cleared his throat. It'd been a strange morning so far. In the past it could take a good year from when Riley offered a bribe, and Jessica truly earned it, this morning it took two seconds. What would be next? Flying pigs and snowballs in hell? 

"Where do you want this?" Scott asked Riley showing him Jessica's breakfast plate.

"Right here will do," Riley said indicating the spot in front of him. 

Riley pushed her up to a sitting position, facing the table.

Jessica sat looking at the plate, the men sat looking at her. 

Scott had given her a regular portion size, but for Jessica it would probably be too much. They were lucky if they got half a toast into her on a good day. If they could get her to eat at least some of it, Riley decided, that would be an indication that there were real changes going on with her. 

It would be something measurable. 

A minute stretched in two. Jimmy shuffled restlessly in his seat. Riley and Angus had expressions on their faces that he knew all too well. 

If Jessica didn't comply, and soon, it would be the end to any freedom she'd expected that day, and the beginning of a day of misery. 

For her, and for him. He'd feel sorry for her, wish he could help her, but in some distant part of himself he still had some of his own reservations that he needed addressed. 

If nothing else, Riley and Angus would ensure that Jessica knew her place and more than likely would not chance acting on any plans she had. He'd been taken by surprise on a few of the stunts she'd pulled on the other men, and so he knew he could never be one hundred percent sure of her intentions. 

This was getting unbearable. Jessica had gone from looking at the plate to staring at her lap. 

Riley had his hand on her thighs. Jimmy could see Riley's knuckles turning white as he applied more and more pressure. The more he squeezed the lower Jessica's head sank. 

Jimmy slid over into the seat Scott had vacated, picked up the fork on Jessica's plate, scooped some eggs up and held them in front of Jessica.

"Jessica ..." he said in a quiet, yet urgent voice. Jessica looked up at him, surprised to hear him so close. She had a bewildered look on her face. He waved the fork before her. She nodded slightly and opened her mouth. Jim shoveled the egg into her mouth. He followed it almost immediately with another forkful. He continued this way, until half the plate was empty. 

No one had moved, no one had said a word. Jessica worked hard to keep up with the constant stream of food , but finally she refused to open her mouth. He wiggled the fork before her again. She shook her head.

"I can't Jimmy," she said in a whisper, "I'm too full." Her eyes fell to her lap.

Jimmy looked at Riley. 

Well, Jimmy'd had to feed her, but she'd eaten. That was a start. They'd let her get a taste of freedom today, and then once she was hooked, he'd insist she eat by herself, and a greater amount At least he knew now that Jessica was finally ready to respond to some enticements. 

Angus had been watching Jessica, and he felt the same old frustration. She never did exactly what was asked of her, and never fast enough. As far as he was concerned, she should've immediately picked-up the fork and ate all the food on her own. And then, as usual she directed her verbal response to Jim and only loud enough for him to hear it. 

"Good job Jim, but you already have the privilege of going outside, seeing the horses." Angus said, the frustration evident in his tone. "Jessica is supposed to eat her breakfast, and Jessica is supposed to speak-up loud and clear. In my mind she hasn't earned the right to go out with Scott ..." Jessica sat up straight, and turned in Angus' direction. 

"I'm sorry, "she said, trying to keep her eyes on his face, "but I can't eat any more, I'm full." 

Her eyes slipped back to her lap. 

Angus was caught off guard. After years with little or no advancement, it was hard to believe that it was real.




Lisa Ch. 03: Learning



"Why don't we go brush your teeth, Jess." Jimmy said, "We've got a work out to do before going outside." 

He looked to Riley who still clutched her on his lap. 

Riley released her and Jessica slid off his lap and moved toward Jim. Jim looked to Angus, waiting for an objection, but Angus just kept his eyes on Jessica. He watched her until she disappeared in the hallway with Jim. 

Even when he could no longer see her, he stared at the hallway. What was she up to? He wondered. Given five or ten minutes alone with her, he'd find out, but it didn't seem that he'd get that chance. 

Riley leaned toward Scott and Josh. "When Jessica's outside, I want Josh and Jim with you Scott, just in case ... it's easy to get distracted with the horses . . Shit, maybe I should stick around ..."

"We can handle it Riley," Josh said. "You go into town, or do whatever you need to do. All three of us will be with her, at all times."

Riley hesitated. Both he and Angus had a full day of errands planned, some of which were difficult to put off. He looked at Angus, but his expression was non-committal. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. But then, there had already been some small changes, all in the span of half and hour.

"Alright," he acquiesced with a sigh. 

Something had to change. He needed something to change. 

It was no longer fulfilling to have Jessica cower at his very presence. He suspected that Angus felt the same way. 

"Let's see if this will be tempting enough to keep her on her best behavior. Good luck. Angus, stick around I need a word with you ..." 

Riley waited for Scott and Josh to disappear into the basement, Jim and Jessica following moments later. As was their usual pattern, Jim, Josh and Scott worked out first thing in the morning. 

"You didn't object to Jessica helping Scott with the horses." Riley said when the basement door closed and the sound of footsteps going down the stairs dissipated.

Angus shrugged. "I guess you have your reasons for doing what you do," he replied. Riley smiled. Good old Angus, he could always rely on him to back him up.

"I have a plan, but for it to work, you and I have to change the way we deal with Jessica." 

A shadow passed over Angus' face. Change was never something easy for him. 

"Think of Jessica the same as you think of Sam, out in the kennel there," he said referring to a pit bull of theirs with which they'd had considerable trouble when they first brought him home.

"Sam?" Angus replied, liking the sound of this even less.

"Remember how we had to start throwing him a few bones now and again? When he did the littlest thing right, we had to pet him real good, talk in a quieter voice, give him a treat?"

Angus nodded, "Spoil him you mean. We had to coddle his sorry ass."

"That pretty much describes it," Riley agreed. "Well, we're going to have to do the same with Jessica."

"Coddle? Jessica? Are you kidding me?" Angus asked in amazement. "If there's anyone in this world who does not need coddling, it's that girl. Have you forgotten all she's done to us? Christ, you're joking right?"

"No, I'm not joking. Lord knows she's strong willed," Riley paused when Angus snickered, "but we're working on changing that, right? I threw her a bone, she took it. In the past, she wouldn't have, today she did. She made a change, and now we need to make one in order to move ahead."

Angus was shaking his head. "It's a trick Riley. She's up to something again ...I'm not falling for it!"

"Hey Angus, I'm with you on that," Riley replied with a laugh, "I don't trust her as far as I could throw ...you. I'm not saying we throw the doors open and let her waltz out! Nothing changes except that we try to make ourselves less scary to her .." 

Angus was shaking his head again. "That isn't going to work!" He interrupted.

"Think of it this way," Riley said. "If she's trying to pull something on us ... we're pulling something on her. How better to catch her at it than to lull her into a false sense of security? She thinks we have our guard down ... she tries to execute her plan, whatever it is, and bam, we thwart it. Teach her a lesson, she'll never forget. But in the meantime, we get the benefit of having her behave the way we want."

Angus was silent. His chin to his chest, Angus stared at Riley from below a knitted brow.

"Alright," he finally said. "But when we find out what she's up to, I get first dibs at punishing her ..."

"Agreed." Riley said, "But if you're concentrating on the negative, it's going to come out in how you deal with her. Just pretend, for the time being, that she's everything you want her to be. She's your girl. You have to will her to be what you want."

Angus let a sigh escape him. "Christ," he muttered under his breath.

"Angus," Riley said moving closer to him, right up in his face, "Live a little. Let this be your fantasy. I have one, I know you do too. Somewhere inside, you have an image of what you want Jessica to be. Make her it. This isn't going to work if you don't really try."

"This is dangerous Riley," Angus said quietly. 

He was never one to defy Riley. For his whole life Angus had been misunderstood, his reserved nature taken for stupidity or slowness. Riley had been the one person who had always seen the potential in Angus, always treated him like a normal person. No matter what Riley told him to do, he ultimately did it. Riley could tell him to put the barrel of a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger, and he would do it, no question about it. And despite himself, he wanted to comply. Yes, he had ideas about how he wanted Jessica to be. How he wanted her to act, maybe even love him. And in fact, his fantasy included a lot of coddling of Jessica. But it was dangerous, very dangerous. Not only could she escape, but she could trample his heart. He'd been through that once before ... he had no plans on going through it again. 

"I know," Riley said placing his hand on Angus' shoulder. Despite how Angus had tried to paint it otherwise, Riley knew Angus' break-up with Beth had been incredibly painful for him. "This is different Angus. Jessica is going nowhere. She's yours, mine, ours, no matter what, for however long we want her. Remember that."

Angus nodded. "Okay ... okay, I'll do it. I can't promise miracles though."

"Just try, that's all I ask."

"Right. What about the others?" Angus asked as Riley let go of his shoulder and Angus tried to pretend that he hadn't needed his show of affection as much as he had.

"What about them?" Riley asked surprised by the tinge of jealousy he heard in his own voice. 

All right, if he were one hundred percent honest with himself, he did feel some jealousy. For whatever reason, things seemed to go easier for them with Jessica. "They're young and stupid. They think with their dicks, not their heads and it seems to have gotten them somewhere with her."

"So, be more like them, is what you're saying?" 

"Like Josh or Scott maybe," Riley replied, "but please, please, don't turn into Jimmy. I can only take one bleeding heart in this group, alright?"

Angus nodded and laughed. 

So Riley had noticed it too. The way Jessica interacted with the others versus him or Riley. Well, maybe Riley was right. Maybe they had to try and soften up a little around her. But if she was just trying to find some way to escape ... heaven help her because that was where she'd end up, he'd make sure of that.

Riley took a rifle from the cabinet and headed for the door. "I'll see you a bit later." He said.

"Later," Angus said. He looked at the door Riley had just gone through. 

Fantasy. Hell, that'd be easy, he did that all the time. 

In fact, many of the times that he'd blown up at Jessica lately were because she hadn't acted the way he'd fantasized that she would. The frustration had been too much, the disappointment too great. 

But now Riley seemed to think that he could somehow shape Jessica into the person of his fantasy. Angus wasn't stupid. He realized that he was going to have to change his fantasy somewhat. Unless he could somehow transfer his thoughts to Jessica's there was no way she could be exactly what he wanted. So, he'd settle for the next best thing. At least some attempt to appear as though she liked him, wanted to be with him. That would be a massive improvement over the way things were now. Angus moved to the basement door. He opened it. 

"Anyone need anything in town?" Angus called down while fidgeting with the baseball cap on his head. 

"No!" came the immediate reply from below.

Angus sucked in a breath. Well, no time to start but the present ... 

"What about Jessica, does she need any supplies?"

There was silence. He began to wonder if he'd asked the question out loud.

"No," Jim finally replied. 

Well, his fantasy Jessica would have had a list a mile long, but in reality Angus was relieved. He didn't particularly enjoy hanging around in the women's section in department stores. Picking up his rifle, he left, slamming the door behind him. 

In the basement Jessica jumped at the noise. Then she felt relief. Angus was gone for a while, she had room to breathe. For whatever reason, Angus always managed to come in quietly, but when he left, they all knew it. 

"Are you done yet?" Jessica asked for the hundredth time. She was anxious to get out to the horses, and it was obvious. 

The men had stopped their workout, the shock of Angus' question disrupting their concentration. Angus never asked about Jessica's needs. Supplies or otherwise. Jim, Josh and Scott had stared each other. It was a good thing Jim had answered Angus, neither Josh nor Scott had had the presence of mind to. 

"Jess, you didn't happen to slip anything into Riley and Angus' coffee, did you?" Scott asked. The way she was watched, it was impossible, but he couldn't think of any other explanation for Riley or Angus' behavior that morning.

"What?" Jessica asked.

"Never mind!" Jim exclaimed, giving Scott the evil eye.

"Hey, you got a better explanation?" Scott asked.

"No need to plant seeds ..." Jim said looking at Jessica to see what her reaction to Scott's question was. She had already forgotten it and was practically hopping up and down on the sofa.

"Are you done?" she repeated.

"Alright, alright!" Josh said, reaching for his towel. "I don't know about you guys, but I can't work out with Jessica practically salivating over here."

"Fine, " Scott said with a laugh. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Jessica so excited. "Let's go see the horses."

******************************************

Jessica was in awe. Her day had been better than she had hoped. She had helped Jim, Josh and Scott clean out the horse stalls, and groom the horses. They had barely stopped for lunch before they went back to the barns to finish up with the stalls. 

Now she stood at the corral fence barely able to control her excitement. The men were saddle training a new horse, Ebony. Scott had climbed on the horse while it was in a wooden chute that fed into the corral. Aside from a whinny here and there, he'd been calm, but once Jim had unlatched the gate, the black, enormous, horse flew out in the corral and began jumping, turning, and arching his back. Scott had bounced around like a rag doll for a minute or two, and then flew off landing in a cloud of dust on the ground. Josh, riding a tan mare, Aspin, raced in and scooped Scott up before he could be stomped by the Ebony's flailing hooves. 

Jessica's heart pounded. It had looked like so much fun! Despite the fact that it reminded her of the last day she'd had with her family, she felt nothing but excitement, happiness. Jimmy rounded Ebony up again, and led him into the chute. Jessica ran, as best as she could in Jimmy's running shoes, to the side of the chute. The men had tossed her old shoes out and given that Jessica had never been outside of the house, they'd never bothered buying her new ones. Jimmy's feet were so much bigger than hers, she felt like she was wearing clown shoes. But she was too excited to be self-conscious.

She climbed up the side of the chute. He'd watched her clonk over in his old pair of runners and he couldn't help but smile. Not only because she'd looked pretty funny, but also because there was no way she could run away wearing them. They were perfect.

Jessica peered over the chute wall. There was barely enough room to slip onto the horse. 

"Be careful Jess," Jimmy said, "you don't want to fall in there!" 

Oh yes she did! 

"Can I ..." she began, but a whinny from within the corral interrupted her. Josh and Scott were still on the brown mare, but she pranced back and forth, lifting her legs.

"Jim! It's a God damn snake!" Josh yelled.

"Shit!" Jimmy hissed as he grabbed his rifle from where it leaned against the far chute wall. He flew over the fence and into the corral. 

Jessica went into auto pilot. Without thinking she straddled the chute wall and lowered herself onto Ebony's back. He snorted his disapproval. She wrapped the rope attached to the saddle horn around her hand, and without so much as a hesitation she leaned forward and pressed the lever that unhitched the gate. The horse flew out of the chute.

Jim heard the horse coming. He'd fired off a round, killing the snake, and then he spun around. His mind couldn't grasp what it saw. There was the black stallion, bucking around the corral, and Jessica sat on top, rolling with the motion of the horse. Something about the scene wasn't right, but it took him a few seconds to understand that it was Jessica, and she was about to kill herself falling off the horse. Dread grew within him.

"Holy Shit!" he heard Scott yell from behind him, and he saw Josh on the mare race up to the head of the stallion, and try to get a hold of it. In what seemed to be the longest two seconds of their lives, Scott, Jim and Josh watched helplessly as Jessica went around and around on the horse. And then, with a magnificent buck from Ebony, she flew off, and all they could see was dust. Josh took the opportunity to rope the stallion and lead him away. Jim and Scott ran to Jessica. She was getting to her feet, her body heaving in silent spasms.

"Jess! Jess!" Jim shouted as he reached her, grabbed her and pulled him to him. He ran his hands over her body, looking for broken bones, sprains, gashes. Jessica continued to vibrate. When he was certain there weren't any obvious injuries, he pushed her away from him and looked into her face, ready to soothe and calm her terror, but unprepared for what he actually saw. Jessica wasn't crying, like he'd suspected, but laughing. She was laughing so hard she couldn't get a sound out.

"Is she alright?" Scott asked.

"I'm not sure," Jim replied, "oh crap," he said as he looked over Scott's shoulder and saw Riley and Angus barreling at them full speed. Jessica's back was to them, she didn't see them coming, but Jim doubted that at that moment she really cared.

"Did you see that?" she demanded from Jim. She moved into his arms, put her hands on his chest and grabbed handfuls of his shirts. She tugged on his shirt. "Did you see that?" she repeated, "that was so much fun!"

"Jess ..." Jimmy began.

"Can I do it again?" she asked.

"What the hell happened?" Riley demanded as he reached them. He grabbed Jessica's arm and spun her around to face him. The smile he saw there made him hesitate. It wasn't her usual 'in your face' victorious smile, but a smile he'd never seen on her before. 

The fear Riley'd felt moments before dissipated He and Angus had just returned from town, just gotten out of the car, when they saw Jessica fly from the horse. 

As her body had hit the ground, Riley had felt something lodge in his throat. He'd wanted to scream her name, but nothing came out. He was certain she had broken her neck, but here she stood, smiling up at him. 

A real smile. And much to his surprise, it didn't fade when she saw him, or Angus, who'd brushed past him and pulled her from Riley's grasp and into his own. His hands ran over her body as if he were frisking her, and yet she smiled. She was delirious, it was the only explanation.

"It was so much fun!" Jessica repeated, "Did you see it?" she looked down at Angus as he crouched beside her, hands running over her legs. He looked up at her. What the hell was she on? 

He stood up, towering over her, not sure how to react. Jessica spun back to Jimmy. She felt so alive again, so exuberant. She stepped closer to Jim, "Can I do it again, can I?"

"Hey!" Angus roared, Jessica moving away from him being more than he could take. "Get back here Jessica. You don't leave me unless I say to!" and he reached out, grabbed her arm and jerked her back. 

That was a reality check for Jessica. The smile disappeared as she found her footing. She stood beside Angus, head lowered.

"Sorry," she mumbled, "I forgot."

Angus paused. She never normally said anything, just stood and glowered. Angus looked to Riley. Riley watched Jessica through squinted eyes. 

There hadn't been any eye contact, and it wasn't loud and clear, but she'd responded. He turned his attention back to Jim, Josh and Scott.

"What was she doing on that horse?" he demanded.

"Trying to get us to take her to the hospital again!" Angus interjected in a gruff voice. Memories of the aspirin incident flooding back to him. 

How she'd found the bottle, they could never figure out, but she had, and she'd eaten practically the whole thing before any of them had realized it. She'd never tried to kill herself prior to that ... the men were horrified to think she'd found a new purpose that they'd have to guard against. It soon became obvious that her intention hadn't been to off herself, but to force them to take her to the hospital. She'd looked almost triumphant as she kept repeating the word 'hospital'. 

Riley had dashed any hopes she had of that when he ordered Angus to get him a mixture of warm water and soap. He had poured it down her throat, until he was sure she'd vomited everything up. 

"If you want broken bones Jessica," Angus continued, "you don't have to ride a horse to get them ... I'll gladly oblige!" He'd hung on to Jessica's arm and now he pulled her by it until she was on her toes. He stuck his reddening face into hers.

"She just wanted to have a little fun!" Jim said quickly, trying to divert what he knew was likely to come for Jessica.

"Fun?" Angus asked, staring into Jessica's eyes. Their faces were so close she had little choice but to look back. "I can dish that out too!" with a sound that resembled a growl he turned on his heel and began stalking back to the house, dragging Jessica behind him.

"Stop!" Jim yelled and ran to stand in Angus' way, "she asked me if she could ride Ebony."

Angus glowered at Jim as they stood facing each other, and Jim began to wonder if he'd end-up with a few broken bones too. 

"That was fucking stupid!" Angus finally said. "Really fucking stupid. Jessica can come up with her own ways to escape Jim, she doesn't need your help!" He yanked Jessica to his side. "Besides, it doesn't matter whether she asked you or not, I have a few things I'd like to say to Jessica in private anyway."

"Angus," Riley interrupted, "I think this is something we need to address with Jim." Angus turned to look at Riley. He was trying very, very hard to control his anger. Jim moved forward, next to Jessica.

"I admit it wasn't the best idea ..." Jim began, "but guys, she's so damn bored. I thought that was part of the agreement, that she'd have a little more freedom, and fun."

As Jim spoke, Jessica slipped her free hand into his. He was always there for her. He always did what he could to protect her. 

Riley blinked. What the hell ... Jessica's stance hadn't changed. She stood, head lowered between Angus and Jimmy, but she had taken Jimmy's hand. And Jimmy had the nerve to stand there and talk to them as if Jessica seeking out physical contact was the most natural thing in the world . 




Lisa Ch. 03: Learning



Riley felt anger rising. Damn Jimmy, he was always sticking up for Jessica, always looking like the good guy! Funny how he never seemed to be at the receiving end of one of Jessica's escape attempts. If he were, maybe he wouldn't be so quick to defend her! 

"That's cute Jessica." Riley said. "Maybe you'd like to hold Angus' hand while you go back to the house. I think you've had enough freedom for today." 

Jessica dropped Jim's hand, but not before Angus saw her holding it. He didn't know what to feel first, angry or jealous. He let go of her arm and held out his hand, mentally daring her not to take it. Jessica reached out and wrapped her fingers around his pinky. 

"Hand, Jessica," Angus said in his gruff tone, "if he'd wanted you to hold my little finger, he would have said so. Take my hand!"

"Angus," Riley interrupted, "remember what we talked about this morning."

"Right," Angus replied and thought it was funny that Riley would want him to go easy on Jessica. By the expression on his face, Angus could tell Riley wanted to have a private moment or two with her also. "My hand Jessica!" He said, trying to soften his voice. Jessica took his hand in hers. 'Well, what do you know?' he thought to himself. She'd obeyed without the application of brute force or bloodshed. Angus felt his blood pressure coming down. He led the way to the house. 

As they walked Jessica realized that for the first time that she could ever recall, Angus was actually walking with her, not dragging her. And somehow, she had not been beaten, as she most assuredly would have been any other time. Her mind raced. What had changed? 

She knew there was still a good chance Angus would beat her once they got to the house, but out of the corner of her eye she could see the way he was walking. His free hand hung loose at his side, his steps were regular, not driven into the ground. His torso was upright, not leaning in the direction that they were going. This was not his angry stance, there were none of the usual tell-tale signs she recognized just before he dragged her to his room, threw her on the bed and used his belt to administer what he considered to be 'little reminders'. 

Even Riley had been surreally calm. Riley had said he wanted eye contact, verbal responses, and kisses. Was that all it would take to make them happy? To get them to leave her alone? She would try, she'd have to try, to do what Riley had said. For the first time since coming to this God forsaken place, she had been happy, excited, free. She wanted it again.

"Sit down," Angus said when they'd entered the house and stood before the sofa. His voice had been gruff, but not angry. She forced her eyes to meet his. 

"Okay," she replied, intending to say it clearly, but only managing a whisper, and sat down. 

Angus stood over Jessica, looking down at her bent head. He couldn't help but feel as though she were planning something, yet, she'd looked at him, actually looked at him, and even said something that he hadn't had to pry out of her. He was confused. 

Jessica pulled her legs up onto the sofa, wrapped her arms around them and began to rock. 

Coddle was the word Riley had used, just like they'd done with Sam. Somehow Angus doubted that a pat on the head and a doggy treat would do it for Jessica. He sat down beside her. 

She grew still for a moment, and then began rocking again. 

Hesitantly he placed his arm around Jessica's shoulders. If she head butted him, bit him, jabbed him with her elbow, or stomped on his foot ... he was going to make her pay. He pulled Jessica to his chest, and she went with no resistance. He held her like that, moments passed before he began to relax. He became aware of the scent of her shampoo. He'd rested his chin on the top of her head. The fragrance was amazing. It intermingled with Jessica's own scent, and Angus began to feel a strange mix of emotions. Fantasy. Well, in his fantasy, he'd try and comfort her after having the fright of falling off a horse, and she'd show her appreciation by kissing him ... without him having to demand she do so. And not just a peck either, a real kiss. 

Just how was he supposed to make her into his fantasy, as Riley had commanded? The only way he knew how, hadn't worked up till then. He thought about Jim. Jim coddled Jessica all the time, and seemed to get results. In his mind's eye he could see past situations in which Jim would lean in to Jessica and say "it's okay". Angus glanced at the front door. The others didn't seem to be coming. Christ, this was going to be the death of him! He took a deep breath and mumbled, "It's okay." Jessica didn't react. She certainly didn't kiss him. Oh well, he'd tried, he could tell Riley that. 

As they sat there, Angus became aware of the soft mound of her left breast against him. His reaction was instantaneous. He wanted her, right then, right there, but when he brought his left hand to her breast, Jessica tensed. Warning bells went off in her head ... why had she gotten so close to him? She pressed her hand onto his chest as if prepared to use it to push herself away from him. Angus dropped his hand from her breast in frustration. This was not what his fantasy Jessica would do! He sat wondering what to do next, what Riley would consider acceptable given the circumstances, and suddenly Jessica relaxed against him again. Relief flooded over her, and her mind went back to replaying her ride on Ebony. 

Angus got the message loud and clear, but he wasn't sure it was something he wanted to hear. This wasn't the time or place anyway, but he really wanted her. He wasn't used to letting Jessica dictate anything to him, particularly when, where, or how he could have her. He threw his head back against the sofa. Damn it, this didn't need to be so complicated.

*********************************************

As soon as Jessica was out of hearing range Riley grabbed Jimmy by the front of his shirt. 

"Jim, you dumb bastard, get your head out of your ass and start being responsible will you! How could you have possibly thought that letting Jessica ride an untamed horse was a good idea?" 

"Look, I'm sorry, alright? It all happened so fast ..." Jimmy was grasping at straws. He wanted to sound convincing, without sounding too inept. The last thing he wanted was for Riley to not trust him with her anymore.

"If she thought Russian Roulette was fun, would you let her play that too? Well?" he demanded when Jim didn't answer. Jimmy shook his head. 

Jim, Riley was becoming more and more aware, was young and reckless, apparently something he shared in common with Jessica. Riley shook his head. It was like having a couple of kids! Despite himself, Riley liked the fact that Jessica had been so excited by something so dangerous. So long as it hadn't been part of her plot to escape, it actually impressed him. 

"Finish up out here. I'm going to check up on Jessica and Angus, and get dinner started. Jesus Jim!" he exclaimed and headed for the house. 

When Riley entered the house, he was expecting to find Jessica trembling on the sofa and Angus stalking around her. Or, even worse, hearing Angus beating her in his room. So he was taken aback, yet pleasantly surprised to find Jessica in Angus' embrace on the sofa. 

Angus, with his head leaning against the back of the sofa, rolled it to the side and looked at him with an expression that Riley couldn't read. Riley took a deep breath. In his heart of hearts, Riley knew Jessica had been up to something. She always was. He had an overwhelming desire to get a confession out of her no matter what it took, but she had asked Jimmy's permission, which was definitely a deviation from her standard modus operandi. Plus, she hadn't had that angry attitude which almost always accompanied Jessica's escape attempts. He remembered that smile, it had seemed sincere. On top of that, he had to try and save his interrogations for her real misbehaviors. Angus would take any queue to come down on Jessica, so Riley had to be particularly careful about how he dealt with Jessica. He just didn't know if he had the restraint necessary in him.

"Is she okay?"

"Oh yeah, fine." Angus replied. Riley crossed the living room floor to get a dining room chair. He set it down in front of Jessica, and straddled it.

"Jessica," he said, "sit up and ..." he hadn't even finished his instructions when Jessica sat up, Angus' arm still around her, and looked at Riley. She waited, and Riley was at a loss for words. He looked at Jessica, studied her eyes, trying to figure out what her plan was. Jessica withstood Riley's examination for a moment or two, and then her eyes slid down to her hands. It was the same stare he always gave her just before he punished her for something. Not quite as intense, but the same stare. Did he know that Jimmy had lied? Was she going to be in trouble after all?

"Jessica, look at me," Riley tilted her chin up with his hand, "I need you to look at me. You know that. If you have nothing to hide from me Jessica, " Riley continued, a hint of suspicion entering in his tone, "you should be able to look me in the eye." 

Jessica tried harder to comply. His voice was unusually gentle. She wanted to keep it that way, and she wanted to be allowed to ride Ebony again. She knew there was only one way that would happen. When she looked at him, she didn't see any anger, but she expected it to surface at any moment. 

"What you did was stupid," he began. "You could have been seriously hurt. Don't do it again, understand?" Jessica nodded. A shadow crossed over Riley's face. Jessica sat straighter 

"I ... I understand," she said quickly. She was catching on. Well, he could live with that. 

For a moment Jessica looked like she'd say more, but then she closed her mouth and lowered her head. This was something new ...

"Did you care to add something to that?" he asked. Jessica nodded, almost imperceptibly. What was this? Were he and Jessica actually having an exchange? Some kind of two way conversation? He looked at Angus and he looked as stunned as Riley felt. "Well I suggest that you say something then ..." Riley said.

Jessica's lips moved, but nothing came out. 

"There are two things wrong with this," Riley said wanting to grab and shake her. "First off, I need you to look at me, and secondly, I need to hear you. One more time Jessica, if you don't get it right this time, this 'conversation' is over."

Jessica looked up at Riley. "Can I still help Scott with the horses?" 

Riley paused. Jessica had asked him a question that was unrelated to when she'd be allowed to go home. He couldn't recall a time when she'd done that in the past, ever.

"I don't see why not," Riley replied, not sure what to make of the change in her behavior. The eye contact, kisses, speaking loudly and clearly, even the eating were things that had been constant points of contention with Jessica. They'd been working on them for months. 

Asking a question, while nice if done with no hidden agenda, was never required of her, and therefore a complete surprise. He truly didn't know how to react. "No saddle training though. Maybe, and I do mean maybe, if you improve your behavior significantly, we'll let you go for a horseback ride."

Jessica's breath caught and she sat straight up, her hands clamped over her mouth. She seemed barely able to contain her excitement. She looked at Riley with an expression he wished he could permanently etch onto her face. 

"I'll be good!" she stated in a voice filled with excitement, "I will," she added turning to look at Angus and then back at Riley, "Can I ride Chestnut? I'd really like to ride Chestnut!"

Riley looked at Angus, but all he saw in Angus' expression was discomfort. He knew what Angus was thinking. It crossed his mind too. She was a fast study. What if she'd decided that the safest way to get away from them was to lull them into a false sense of security by acting and doing what they wanted? 

"First you have to earn the privilege for riding, then we can discuss which horse you can ride. I need to see a consistent improvement for at least a month before we get to that point. You know what we expect from you, right?" Riley asked. Jessica was nodding,

"Eye contact, kisses, verbal responses." She answered. This was too weird. Riley began to wonder if he was dreaming. 

"And what else?" he prompted.

"Eating," Jessica added after thinking for a moment. 

"Right," Riley said, and looked back at Angus. This was by far the longest and most civil conversation he had ever had with Jessica. Angus looked like he was going to explode. His face had turned so red that it was difficult to see where his face stopped and his hair began. 

"This is bullshit Riley!" he stammered. When Jessica looked at Angus, the optimism on her face fell, and she lowered her head. Angus resembled a tomato again, and that was never a good thing for Jessica. 

"She's got something figured out. She's trying to trick us into trusting her. Once we're not expecting it, she'll stab us in our sleep or something. If she gets on a horse, she'll take off. I guarantee you, this is not for real, nothing she says is for real!" 

Riley considered what Angus said. It was all very possibly true. But if they were careful, very careful, maybe they could get what they wanted from her, and stymie any escape plans she may have had. If they made her good behavior pay off for her, and came down extra hard on her bad behavior, sooner or later she'd have to realize how much easier it was to behave and not do anything to cause a reappraisal from them. 

"Let me make something clear Jessica. If you do anything, anything at all, in an attempt to escape, you will lose all of your privileges, including being off of the rope. We go right back to square one, and be assured that Angus will be given free reign to punish you in any way he sees fit, followed by the rest of us. I think you have a pretty good recollection of what kind of punishment Angus can mete out ... right?"

Jessica nodded, and then remembering at the last moment, she looked up at Riley. She was pale and looked very chaste.

"Yes, I remember ..."

"Angus, I'd like to discuss this further at our meeting tonight, after dinner. I know exactly where you are coming from ... " he said while getting to his feet and lifting the chair. "Is that alright?"

Angus could only manage to nod. 

Riley had to get away from Jessica for a bit. Things had gone too smoothly, too pleasantly. It couldn't possibly last for much longer, and he didn't want to experience the disappointment that would come with a disintegration in Jessica's obedience. 

"In the meantime, stay on your toes Angus, that's all I can say." 

Angus grunted in response and muttered "Yeah right," under his breath. Riley took the chair back to the dining room and Jessica never thought she'd actually be sorry to see Riley walk away. 

She expected Angus to reprimand her at any moment, certain she had missed some cue from him that she had been expected to act upon. 

Angus didn't trust himself to say or do anything more. Well at least if he had his hands on her, Jessica couldn't get away with much. It seemed like more coddling was the safest thing to do. He turned on the sofa and lay back against the armrest. 

"Come here," he ordered, holding his arms out to Jessica. Jessica hesitated, her arms automatically wrapping around herself. Everything about him, his tone of voice, his body language, everything, told her that she was in trouble. 

"Now, Jessica!" he ordered. Jessica moved closer to him. He pulled her on to himself, her cheek on his chest. She was rigid against him, but when Angus lay his arms around her waist, and kept them still, she relaxed slightly. For the first time in a long time, Angus didn't smell of oil and lubricant. It made it easier for Jessica to be closer to him. He could feel her heart pounding a mile a minute against him. Angus stared at the ceiling. He had to admit that this was pleasant. Far more pleasant than fighting with Jessica at every turn, still he couldn't help but wonder, what kind of a mistake they were making by letting their guards down? 

Jessica lay very still. She had no idea why Riley and Angus were being so nice. Yes, Jimmy had taken the blame for her, but normally she didn't need to do anything wrong for Riley or Angus to find some reason to punish her. Why were they suddenly so nice? The only reason she could think of was that she was doing what they asked. 

Angus moved his hands onto her back. Her immediate reaction was repulsion. She felt as though she should get as far away from him as she could. It would be so easy to hit Angus hard, on the Adam's Apple. He wouldn't be able to breathe, and she could get away from his constant touch. His hands were always on her somehow, she felt like he wanted to control everything about her. And he was mean. He was always finding ways to hurt her. Even at those awful times when she had to be alone with him at night, and do the things he wanted ... without fail he'd bite or pinch her. She felt anger rising, she felt like striking back, making him hurt too. 

But the peacefulness of the moment made her pause. It was much easier to lie quietly than be Angus' punching bag. Besides, she had new, upcoming, freedoms, not to mention existing freedoms, that depended on her complying with the men. She really, really, wanted to be able to go horseback riding. Angus' hands had settled on her back. He made no attempt to touch her elsewhere. She could do this. What was so wrong with just quietly lying together? She forced herself to try and think about something positive about Angus. There had to be something that would make this more pleasant. Well, he was strong. She could definitely admire that about him. When he held her tightly like he was now, she had no reason to feel as though anything, other than Angus himself, could hurt her. She began to relax. She tried to control her breathing. Maybe if she lay still enough they could just lie like that for hours and she could avoid making a disastrous mistake. Maybe.



"How could you give Jessica permission to ride Ebony?" Scott demanded as they walked the horses back to the barn.

"Even for you, that's a little much!" Josh added.

"What do you mean, even for me?" Jim asked in indignation.. He knew what they were thinking, and resented it. They thought that since Jessica felt more comfortable with him, he was a push-over. They had no idea how hard he'd worked with Jessica. For years he had been cultivating a rapport with her. Trying to read her, trust her. Getting her to trust him. Much to his despair, he had been hoodwinked by her a few times. But in his defense he had never been in her immediate presence when she'd attacked the men, or tried to escape. 

He'd like to think that had he been, he would have been able to read her intentions. He could not find anything in her recent behavior that would indicate something underhanded on her part. 

He didn't dare tell them the truth about Jessica riding Ebony, or it would support that image. He still had some element of doubt as to what Jessica would do given half the chance to run. But this was different 

"Jim, I know you don't want to admit it," Scott finally said hating the doubt that he felt, " but you know what Jessica is capable of ... there was a time when she'd do anything to get away from us. Maybe she just has more patience now. By asking you to let her ride Ebony, she may have been using you to get us to take her to the hospital."

"You're right," Jim said. The possibility, however slight, that there was something sinister behind Jessica's actions, shook him. Had she been up to something? 

"Let's wrap this up," Jim said suddenly, eager to be near Jessica again and try to deduce if there was something to worry about. 




Lisa Ch. 03: Learning



"Well one things for sure," Josh said replaying the image of Jessica slipping her hand in Jimmy's, in his head. "Jessica appreciated you letting her ride."

"Right," Jim said. She appreciated his lying for her, that was for certain. Could Jessica have been trying to use his trust in her against him? He felt like shit, but he wasn't sure if it was because he'd lied to Riley and Angus, or because he suddenly doubted Jessica.

"Don't worry," Scott said seeing the stricken look on Jim's face, "tonight I intend to be 100% certain about what her intentions had been. If I find out that she'd meant anything other than to have fun, Riley and Angus will be the least of her worries ..." 

They entered the house and stopped in their tracks. Angus was lying on the sofa with Jessica. Riley was in the kitchen cooking, and the whole scene looked strangely serene. Angus, alone, was the polar opposite to peace and relaxation, but Angus, Riley and Jessica always added up to a highly volatile and explosive situation. Jim knew that there was only one possible reason that Jessica wasn't being abused in some way, and that was the slant he'd given on reality. He felt sick.

"Dinner's ready," Riley said to the gaping trio. "We're having a meeting after we eat." 

Angus sat-up with Jessica, and neither moved. Angus looked as perplexed about what to do next as Jessica. Jim saw his opportunity to be alone with Jessica.

"Why don't you come wash your hands with me?" Jim suggested. Jessica jerked forward, as if eager to comply, but then paused. She turned to Angus.

"Can I go?" she asked. 

"Uh, yeah," Angus muttered. As Jim and Jessica disappeared down the hallway to the bathroom, Angus looked at Josh and Scott, as if looking for confirmation that he hadn't just imagined Jessica asking for permission to go with Jim. Josh and Scott could only look to Riley, they didn't believe what had just happened either. Riley winked at them, and gave Angus a thumbs-up sign before returning to the kitchen. 

"Maybe she did slip something in their food," Josh whispered to Scott. He was thankful that they were going to have a meeting because he had some questions for Riley and Angus.

Jessica rinsed her hands and then reached out for Jim's hand.

"Thanks." She said.

Jim studied her face. "For?"

"For helping me. Riley and Angus have been ..." she paused, trying to find a suitable description. Finally she settled on, "different. I think it's because of what you said, thank you."

She seemed sincere. Was she that good an actress?

"You're welcome Jess." Jim replied wishing he could just leave it at that, but knew he'd always wonder ... "Just before I left to deal with that snake, what was it you were trying to say to me?"

"Before the snake?" Jessica asked, she looked bewildered. "There was a snake?"

"That's what was spooking Scott and Josh's horse ... I had to go shoot it ..."

"I don't remember a snake," she said. 

"You don't remember Aspin going beserk?" Jim asked. Jessica shook her head.

"All I remember is that I wanted to ride Ebony. I was asking you if I could, and then I was ... " suddenly a smile crossed her face as she grabbed Jimmy's arm, "it was so much fun! It was better than any roller coaster that I've ever been on!"

Jessica seemed oblivious to the reference to her previous life, but Jim hadn't missed it. It wasn't often that it happened, but when Jessica did mention something from her childhood Jim began to feel guilty. And when he felt guilty he became overly accommodating. Was Jessica trying to manipulate him? 



"That's fine, but next time don't do it unless you actually ask, and I actually answer!" Jim said his voice stern. Jessica froze and stared at him. He hadn't used that tone with her in so long, she wasn't sure how to react. Her smile vanished and a pout replaced it. Jimmy felt bad. "I'm sorry Jess, I didn't mean it the way it sounded ..."

"Are you guys planning on eating some time tonight?" Riley called out from the kitchen.

"Coming!" Jim shouted back. Then trying to soften his voice he said "Spontaneity is not a word that should be in your vocabulary right now Jessica. You ask a specific question, and you get a specific answer, that's all. Got it?"

"Yes," Jessica replied. 

"We'll talk more later," Jim said taking Jessica's arm, "let's go eat before Riley blows a gasket."  

"Okay," Scott said once Jim returned from downstairs and closed the basement door. He paused as Jim opened it again and peeked behind it. Jessica was down there, and she was known to try and eavesdrop. As Jim closed the door again, Scott turned to Riley and Angus. "Either we've entered the Twilight Zone, Jessica slipped something really good into your food, or you've been replaced by less evil doubles ... "

"Ha, ha," Riley said, "don't quit your day job Scott, you'll never make it as a comedian."

"Give me a break Riley. Ever since Jessica came here the two of you have been about as warm and cuddly as a couple of ice cubes on a cold winter's day, and now Angus is cuddling Jessica on the sofa, and you're winking and giving the thumbs-up sign? What's going on?"

Riley looked to Angus in astonishment. "I don't know about you," he said, "but my feelings are hurt." He turned back to Scott, "I was wrong Scott, maybe you'd be alright as a comedian. You've got the exaggeration of simple events down pretty good but ditch the colorful metaphors ... you make me sound like a fag. Is there a question you'd like to ask?"

"Wait a minute," Angus said rising from the chair he sat on, "where do fagots fit into all of this. There ain't no fucking fagots here, and there never will be!"

"And the old Angus is back!" Scott exclaimed. "Thank God too, we were beginning to really miss the anger, the aggression."

"You want anger? I'll give you anger, " Angus said. "stop talking in fucking riddles, or I'll pop you ... angry enough for you?" 

"All right," Riley interrupted, "before anyone has a stroke, Angus and I have decided to take a slightly different tack with Jessica. We figure that if she feels less afraid of us, she might actually listen a little better ... not a word Jimbo!" Riley added just as Jim opened his mouth to speak. 

He had given them practically that exact same advice ages ago. He'd been about to point that out, but now thought better of it. Well, at least one half of the equation was starting to make a change. Angus and Riley were finally giving in to their need to have Jessica's cooperation. Now if there were just some way to convince Jessica to do the same. She was oblivious to the simple things that she could do to turn her life around for herself. Jim was sure that with just some simple changes on Jessica's part, and a bit of time, Riley and Angus could be completely different men.

"Don't get any lame brain ideas though ... " Angus added, "this doesn't mean Jessica gets away with murder. She will continue to pay for any misbehaviors she commits. If you insist on being a bunch of bleeding hearts, keep it to yourselves." 

"Something you'll figure out pretty fast," Josh said, Angus' self-righteous attitude getting under his skin, "is that the best way to get Jessica to be less afraid of you, is to actually be less scary. You call it being a bleeding heart, I call it picking my battles. Make no mistake Angus, when Jessica does something that warrants it, I can be just as brutal as you. I have been in the past ... you know it, these guys," Josh said tilting his head in the direction of other men, "know it, and Jessica knows it. There are no hearts bleeding around here Angus, just a whole lot of discretion being used in an attempt to build some common ground with Jessica. Course, you may not have had time to notice, given that you've been working really hard at undoing every advancement we've made." Josh's voice had been steadily getting louder as he got angrier. As he spoke, Angus' face got redder and redder. Josh didn't care. He was beyond caring whether he had to duke it out with Angus or Riley. "So fuck you and your fucking high horse!"

"Angus!" Riley said as Angus took a step toward Josh. Angus froze in his place, but his gaze was locked on Josh. He shook as rage coursed through him. The vein on his forehead pulsated. Josh knew he should be at least a little bit scared. He'd seen what Angus could do to men twice his size, but his own anger, his own indignation, wouldn't acquiesce. 

"Let's not lose sight of reality here guys," Riley began, "the fact is that Jessica would love nothing more than to turn us against one another. Divide and conquer would work great for her. So let's not forget the basics ... there's us, and there's her. It's true that some of us are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to how we deal with Jessica, but our vision, our goal, has to be the same."

"Right, " Jim said glad that his months of dropped hints and indirect suggestions finally paid off. Riley finally understood the need to be nicer to Jessica ... but Jim still couldn't seem to get it through Riley or Angus' head that there was more to be had from Jessica then obedience. "Then maybe we should re-define what our goal is. I thought we wanted a relationship with Jessica. We can't do that if we keep treating her like property."

Angus snorted as he slid his eyes from Josh to Jim. "Who the hell are you kidding?" he demanded. "Jessica is one hundred percent, without a doubt, our property. To have a relationship with someone, that someone has to have some measure of free will, independence. Now, you tell me Jim, when's the last time you asked Jessica where she'd rather be, here, or at her own home? When have you ever given Jessica a choice about anything? She's as much our property as that couch. " he pointed at the sofa that sat to the left of him, "If you want to delude yourself into believing differently, don't expect me to play along!"

"Angus," Scott jumped in, "you don't go out of your way to beat the crap out of the sofa every chance you get. Just cause she's your property doesn't mean you have to be so damn hard on her!"

"You'd be right, except for one thing," Angus replied, "that sofa don't go out of its way to try and kill me. For that, I gladly leave it alone."

Silence hung in the air. Riley let it hang for a full five minutes while contemplating his next move. At all costs, the men had to remain united. 

"Let's not forget where our loyalties lie," Riley said. "We've known each other since the day we were born. Our families joined into one huge family, and our families suffered at the hands of Jessica's parents. Our first consideration should always be one another. Jessica should not in any way, take that away from us."

"She's not taking anything away from us," Scott said, "of course we're loyal to each other first and foremost. But Jessica's fear of you, affects all of us. We're each working on building some sort of relationship with her ... she's a human being, not a piece of furniture Angus!" Scott added when he saw Angus ready to interrupt. "Once you're dealing with human beings, you're dealing with relationships. And her fear of you two is impeding any progress we could make. We've gotta all try and save any punitive actions against Jessica for the truly deserving situations."

"Well, excuse us if we're impeding your attainment of true happiness with Jessica. We wouldn't want to be too good at controlling any of her attempts to kill you ... I mean, I guess it doesn't matter that had she aimed just a little off you'd be at best a vegetable, and at worst, dead? I guess you've forgotten all of that?!" Angus ranted.

Scott lowered his head. Unfortunately, Angus had a point. The fear he'd felt when that gun had gone off came back to Scott as if it were just happening. Jim had been prepared to make another point, but Angus' words had silenced him. Josh looked at Scott for a moment and shifted uncomfortably. That had been the darkest time of their history with Jessica. In Josh's mind they probably should have killed Jessica the moment that bullet had hit Scott. But they hadn't, and Josh sometimes wondered what Scott made of that. True he had never seemed upset by it, he had refused to allow them to punish her in retribution. Though it had taken him a long time to be alone with Jessica again after she had healed from Angus' initial beating.

"I thought so," Angus grumbled when it became clear that nothing more was going to come from Scott, Jim or Josh. And then the old anger and frustration resurfaced. "And I can't fucking believe that you didn't punish her for that!" Angus spat. "I kind of thought you were just too tired out at first, figured you'd do it when you got your strength back. But you didn't. And forbidding us to punish her for it ... that was just ... just ..." Angus was so mad he couldn't find the right words to sufficiently demonstrate his distaste with Scott's decision.

"I don't believe you're bringing that up again." Jim said when Scott went pale. "That's ancient history ..."

"It's okay Jim." Scott said. "Angus, I stand by the decision I made then and you being pissed about it won't change anything. But I appreciate what you're saying. I get it."

Angus grumbled but in truth he didn't really care that Scott had done something so stupid. True to form Jessica had given them so many other reasons to beat her ... and when she did, Angus always put a little extra effort in it on Scott's behalf. Whether he wanted it or not.

"Are we in agreement then?" Riley asked, privately relieved that Angus had found such an effective way to bring the men to their senses. "Angus and I will attempt to be less frightening for Jessica, but we must never allow her to come between us. No matter what our advancements are with her, each one of us must take precedence over her in our hearts as well as our minds."

Scott, Jim and Josh nodded their heads. Almost reluctantly, Riley thought.

"I didn't hear you!" Riley said.

"Yes, of course," Scott answered.

"Right," Jim said.

"Mhmm," Josh agreed.

Hardly a resounding endorsement, but Riley knew that they understood. Although none of the men, other than himself or Angus, had demonstrated it lately, he knew that what Josh had said to Angus was true. They could be equally brutal when properly motivated, and knowing Jessica, it wouldn't be long before that motivation appeared again.

"Good. Well, that's it I guess. May as well call her up again," he said to Jim. Jim nodded and walked to the basement door. He paused before it. He didn't know why, but somehow the reminder of what Jessica had done to Scott had been a major blow. He felt numb, as if he'd witnessed a horrible tragedy. Maybe Angus and Riley were right after all. Jessica certainly was, and would probably always be, an outsider to them. As he reached for the doorknob Jim shook his head. He refused to believe that. If he believed that, really believed that, what was the point in even trying with Jessica? Taking a deep breath, he opened the basement door. At least Riley and Angus were actually trying to make Jessica feel more comfortable with them. Maybe there was some hope for the change, after all.

"I bet you could've lived without being reminded of the shooting," Josh said to Scott as they waited for Jessica to emerge from the basement. 

Scott shrugged. The initial recollection of terror had subsided, and he had felt again, just as he had at the time of the shooting, that not much else could have been expected from Jessica. Had he been her in the same situation, he would have done the same thing. It didn't make the whole ordeal any easier, but he certainly felt no ill will toward Jessica because of it. Caution, now that was a different matter. Since that day, he has felt a new level of caution with Jessica. He could not afford to under estimate her again ... and he would not.

"I'm always reminded of the shooting, " Scott said pressing his hand on his shirt just over the scar on his chest. "I don't need Angus to remind me ... though I think it means more to him than it does to me. I don't hold anything against Jessica. War is war, right?" 

Scott watched Jessica step from the threshold of the basement and smile at Jim. There it was, the reason he couldn't hold it against Jessica. There was something about 

that smile, the one she saved just for Jim, that caused Scott to strive for something more. He wanted that smile, and everything that came with it, too.

"That's pretty big of you," Josh said glancing around to make sure that neither Riley nor Angus were within hearing range. They had moved off to the kitchen, "I'm not so sure that I could do the same."

"I'm sure," Scott said, his eyes tracking Jessica as she moved to the sofa with Jim. "Those two, " he said indicating Riley and Angus, "not a chance. You and Jim, yes. You already have a half dozen times. Let's just hope for her sake that she doesn't try something like that again."

"She's gotta know that she'd never survive ... she barely did after she shot you." 

Scott nodded his head. He looked at his watch. Nine o'clock. One more hour and he could have Jessica to himself. Maybe this'd be the night that he'd get that smile for himself. Jim was pulling out the cards. Scott and Josh each took a kitchen table chair and set them around the coffee table. Jim passed Scott the cards, and Scott shuffled, watching Jessica curl her legs under her on the sofa. 

"Ready to play Jess?" Scott asked once he'd dealt the cards. Riley glanced up to see Jessica uncurl herself and reach for the pile of cards, nearest her on the coffee table. 

Well, it seemed that Jim, Scott and Josh had finally convinced her to play cards. He guessed that was a good thing. He wondered what it would take to get her to play chess with him. There was a pipe dream. He brought his attention back to the map on the table. They were getting closer to the day that they could bring Kevin home. Angus was busy circling all the roadways that led away from the prison in red. Who knew when the opportunity would present itself ... but when it did, they would be ready.

Jim switched seats with Josh, so he could be Jessica's partner. They always played as a team. He watched Jessica study her cards. It'd been a long process, getting Jessica to participate in games with them. Most of the time, Jessica had to contend with Riley and/or Angus glowering at her all night as the men played. Even when neither Riley nor Angus were actually playing the game, but were in the vicinity, she refused to play. Preferring instead to curl up into a little ball on the sofa, and pretend to not exist. Finally, a month or two ago, there was a night much like this one, where Angus and Riley were otherwise preoccupied. Jimmy, Josh and Scott and managed to lure Jessica into a game by telling her to teach them a game of cards that she liked. She'd taught them a 

game called Euchre, and so now, if they wanted her to play cards with them, they'd simply deal out a hand of Euchre. Now her attention seemed only partially on the cards. Her eyes kept shifting to where Angus and Riley sat. Despite the afternoon's events, she was nervous again. Things had gone too easily so far. Jessica knew that it would be any little thing now that would set Riley or more likely Angus off. 

Jim wished he could get Riley and Angus to go in the basement, or something. Every time they were around, Jessica withdrew. No wonder Scott and Josh, let alone Angus and Riley, had such a hard time trusting her. They never got to see the girl she was when she was alone with him. All they saw was a nervous, miserable, withdrawn girl. 

It was enough to make him do downright stupid things to try and get the men to see the real Jessica. He thought of a good way to take her mind off of things, and maybe bring a little of the happier Jessica out. Recently, he, Josh and Scott had tried to persuade Jessica to get in on some of their bets. She'd resisted up until then, but he thought he knew how to get her to bet.




Lisa Ch. 03: Learning



"Why don't you wager something Jess, it's a hell of a lot more fun. You can get whatever you want,'

"Hang on," Scott interrupted, "anything you want within reason ... it has to be something we have the ability to actually give you."

Jessica's eyes darted to where Angus and Riley sat. They hadn't heard the conversation. She hesitated, and then shook her head.

"Come on Jess," Jimmy continued, "anything at all ...As long as it's in our control ..." Jimmy added before Scott could speak. "For example ... if we win, I want my laundry done ... washed, folded, put away. That's my bet with Scott, and Josh ... takes my next turn to cook,"

"Right," Josh said as he picked up his cards. "And if we win this round of Euchre, Jim has to clean out the horse stalls for me tomorrow."

"Jim does toilet duty for me tomorrow ..." Scott added.

"Geez Jess," Jimmy said, "here's your chance to ask for anything, anything!"

Scott gave Jimmy a sideways glance. What the hell was with him and promising Jessica the moon. Jim caught his look and held his hand up. He'd seen a flicker of something cross over Jessica's face, he was close, he could feel it!

"Come on Jess, unless they physically can't, the guys will honor whatever you ask. Right guys?"

"It can't have anything to do with Angus or Riley," Josh said leaning in, and speaking in a hushed voice. He remembered what Jim went through a few months before when Jessica had persuaded him to talk Riley into letting her read books. It was a long, ongoing battle. If Jim hadn't finally suggested to Riley that Jessica might stop being so difficult if she were distracted, he would've lost the fight and been at odds with Riley forever. As it is, Riley, and Angus, view Jim as a push-over. That wasn't a can of worms he wanted to deal with. He snuck a look over his shoulder to ensure that Riley and Angus weren't eavesdropping. They sat huddled over the kitchen table focused on their work. 

Jessica leaned forward. She'd decided on something, and Jimmy couldn't tell if the expression on her face was one of defiance or victory. She leaned in even further and held Jimmy's eyes with hers.

"Okay. I want to shower alone." 

Jimmy blinked. What did she mean? She always showered alone. Jessica's eyes moved to Josh and then Scott. Jimmy's did too. By the expressions on their faces, he supposed that it wasn't the case when she was with them. Jimmy groaned. He hadn't seen that coming.

Scott cleared his throat. "Jess, you know we can't leave you alone in the bathroom ..."

"No, not in the bathroom," Jessica said shaking her head, "in the shower. On the nights that I'm ... " Jessica hesitated, "with you, I want to take my own showers ... alone ... from now on."

Scott and Josh looked at each other in disbelief. Neither could think of a reason that she couldn't shower alone. Riley and Angus didn't need to know. Out of pure selfishness, it wasn't something they really wanted to give up. 

'Damn it!' Scott thought to himself. Ah ha, an out! "Only if Jim has to do the same," he said. That'd fix things pretty easily.

Jimmy shrugged, nothing would change for him. "Okay," he said, "is it a wager then?"

"I guess," Josh replied, giving Jim an evil eye. There was always the chance that Jessica and Jimmy would lose, and at least he and Scott would look like the good guys ... willing to go along with it, but then 'oops, too bad you lost' and they could continue on as usual. If Jim and Jess didn't lose however, he was going to be stuck abiding to something he wasn't sure that he could. Could he simply sit in the bathroom knowing Jessica was behind the curtain, all pink from the hot water, rubbing soap everywhere? If he broke the pact he'd look even worse than if he didn't go along with it.

"I'm not crazy about this ..." Scott said while mentally cursing Jimmy for capitulating so easily, "that forever part, it's pretty long ... couldn't we just make it a day or two?"

Jessica shook her head and leaned back against the sofa.

'What the hey' Scott thought, if Jim and Josh were willing to give it up, so was he. It was bit of headway with Jessica. Why smother it?

"Alright," Scott said, "I'll go along. But there's to be no table talk of any kind during the game."

"Jess?" Jimmy asked. She nodded As Josh turned over the top card in the kitty, Jessica showed an attentiveness to her cards she had never displayed before. 

Jessica rapped her knuckles on the coffee table, Jimmy picked-up the upturned card. It was a nine of hearts, he hoped Jessica had a better hand then he did, if she didn't he could end-up doing a heck of a lot of cleaning in the next day or two. 

As the round progressed Jimmy was amazed. Jessica led out with the Ace of diamonds. She managed to win the hand, and at the same time find out that Scott had no trump. The next round she led an Ace of Clubs, won the hand. Ten of clubs forced Josh to play his left bauer, the second highest card of the game. She beat his Queen of spades with a King, and the rest of the round was touch and go, they won by the skin of their teeth. Jimmy marked their point. Jessica didn't seem the least bit frazzled by the close margin of their victory. 

As the next round fell to Jessica and Jim again, Scott began to wonder if they'd been hoodwinked. They got a point on the next round, but although the next seven were close, they always went to Jessica and Jim. She was a shark ... plain and simple. Despite the fact that they'd lost something significant to her, Scott couldn't help but be impressed. She'd played every hand perfectly.

"Woo wee!" Jim exclaimed tossing his last card onto the table, "We won! I don't know how ... but we won!"

"That wasn't exactly the way you taught the game to us," Josh said, not sure what to think about her obvious sneakiness. Next time he planned to be on her team.

"No, " Jessica replied with a smile, "that's what I like to call 'Suicide Euchre', it helps if your partner can back you up." She looked at Jimmy with a shy tilt of her head. 

"You counted on us sucking at the game!" Scott declared a look of astonishment on his face.

"Oh yeah!" Jessica replied and giggled. When Scott shook his head and smiled, she giggled even more. 

"We've been had!" Josh said to Scott and despite himself, he was actually happy about it. This was a real, genuine giggle, they were few and far between. 

It had caught Angus and Riley's attention. They sat watching the group around the coffee table. To hear Jessica giggle out in the open like this was unheard of. Every so often a giggle could be heard from within Jimmy or Scott's room, and sometimes even Josh's, but in front of everyone, never before. 

Jessica noticed Riley and Angus looking over. Riley didn't look angry anymore, and Angus had replaced his normally hostile expression with something resembling tolerance. Jessica looked away before she could do something to change their mood. 

"You look awfully happy for a couple of guys who just lost," Angus said.

"We're in shock," Scott replied. He looked at his watch. Ten o'clock. Jessica was in a good mood. Now was the time to get her out of here, before Riley or Angus bullied her back into a bad mood. "Okay Jess. I don't know about you, but I'm bushed. Let's call it a night." He stood, and held his hand out to her. She took it and got to her feet.

"Good night kisses Jess, " he reminded her. Jessica pecked Josh and Jim on the lips. She turned and hesitated for a moment. Scott heard her take a deep breath and then she moved toward Angus and Riley. She kissed them both on the lips and moved quickly to the hall leading to the bedrooms. Scott was right behind her. Quick exits were always good. He was pretty sure that both he and Jessica held their breaths until they were safely in the bathroom. It didn't take much to set Riley or Angus off. They weren't beyond calling her back and questioning her about why her eyes crossed or some other equally mundane thing.

The bedroom door closed behind them. Jessica was wrapped in a towel, and with her back to Scott, she slipped into her pajamas. It had been weird, not showering with her, but compared to the rest of the day, it barely mattered. 

He'd given up on sex in the shower with Jessica, ages ago. In fact, he'd pretty much given up on sex with Jessica, period. He'd had his share of girls before, mostly one night stands, and he knew when a girl was into it, and when one wasn't. 

Jessica, without a doubt, wasn't. It had gotten to the point where it was too depressing to even try. He'd always tried to make it good for her, he knew all the things that made most girls beg for more, but little surprise, Jessica was not like most girls. So, he'd resigned himself to the fact that a shower with her was merely the thrill of being close to her. He enjoyed lathering her up, toweling her off, and yes, once in a while it led to other things despite the fact that Jessica just didn't get out of it the kind of pleasure he had hoped. Invariably, his pleasure suffered also. 

He got into bed and waited for her to join him. There was always the cuddling. That she didn't seem to mind. In fact, if he didn't know better, he would've sworn that the cuddling was what got Jessica off. 

She was faster than usual in getting into the bed, and something seemed different. She bounced up and down on the bed, on her knees, and actually had a smile on her face. It probably had to do with the fact that she actually had some food in her. She had eaten more that night, than she would normally eat in a week. He had been a little freaked out by that, until he'd heard Riley's plan. Although Riley'd tried, as usual, to pass it off as a collaboration between him and Angus, Scott knew that there was no way Angus would've come up with the idea. In fact Scott was amazed that Riley had managed to get Angus to go along with it. 

None of that mattered ... it seemed like some positive change was finally coming. He took it as a good sign that Jessica seemed willing to finally take advantage of some incentives. It had always been frustrating in the past when she had opted for the hard and painful path. It had not been a picnic, for anyone.

"Riley said that if I'm good for a month, I can go horseback riding with you." Jessica announced as she bounced on the bed. She seemed so excited, so alive. He'd never seen her like that before. "Can I ride Chestnut?" She asked bouncing closer to him, "Please, please, please!"

"Chestnut?" Scott asked, overwhelmed by her enthusiasm. He laughed, "Why Chestnut?"

"Because, he's your favorite horse, " Jessica lifting her pointer finger, "he's young, and fast, and he's beautiful!" she added, raising a finger for every point. Jessica was so pumped that Scott pulled her down to him, and kissed her. No matter what she did, she got his juices going, but now she seemed so passionate, so ready ... Jessica tensed. 

"Come on Jess, just relax, I'll make it good, I promise ..." he whispered as his hand ran the length of her body. She fell onto her back next to him, and he proceeded to kiss every inch of her body as he worked his way down toward his favorite reward. He was so primed, all that pent-up sexuality ready and willing, until he opened his eyes. Jessica was lying, as stiff as a board, staring at the ceiling. She looked like she was counting the specks in the stucco to entertain herself. 

Scott dropped his forehead on her stomach, he couldn't go on. He stayed like that for a minute, two minutes, and Jessica didn't move. He looked up, she hadn't even noticed that he'd stopped. Suddenly he realized that she was making a low, repetitive noise. He moved up her body, closer to her head ... she was humming, humming! She still hadn't realized that he'd stopped. He dropped his head onto the pillow next to hers. She turned to look at him, confusion evident in her expression.

"This is no good for you, is it?" he asked. She had a blank expression. "You don't feel anything? Not even when I touch you down here?" he asked, sliding his hand between her legs, "or kiss you here?" he asked nibbling on her neck. She didn't respond. Any other woman would have at least tilted their head against him as he nuzzled her neck. He was stupefied. He considered himself to be a damn good lay ... he always took care of his partner's needs first. What was going on?

"Jessica, I need an answer from you ... this isn't going to get any better for you unless you tell me exactly what's going on. Tell me, what do you feel when I do this?" he asked probing expertly between her legs. Jessica closed her legs around his arm, effectively halting its motion. "That bad?" he asked. Jessica didn't reply, she just turned her eyes back to the ceiling.

"No Jessica," he said taking her chin and turning her face back to him. "You don't just act like I'm a door to door salesman and ignore me! I need you to speak, and now! Isn't there something that would make this feel good for you? Some sort of story? Like, I don't know, you're walking down the street and some completely gorgeous stranger accosts you and does things to you that make you want to melt on the spot?"

Jessica looked at him like he was crazy. 

"Oh come on!" he demanded suddenly enthused by his mission. He propped his head up with his fist his elbow next to her pillow. "I have a zillion scenarios in my head. Sometimes you're the cute lifeguard on the beach who has just saved me from certain death in the deep blue sea. I have great fun getting the sand out of all your crevices ... then there's the nurse, the teacher, the policewoman, if you can believe that! Come on Jess, who is it for you? I'll be that guy. I don't have to be me. I don't care who the hell you fuck in your head, so long as you get off ... come on," he said patting his hand against her cheek, progressively harder. It seemed as though she'd completely phased out. She began blinking, and then suddenly sat up, pulling her knees to her stomach. Scott sat up beside her.

"You go somewhere else, don't you?" he asked disappointed yet glad to be getting somewhere. "Jess, you need to talk to me, because now that I know, I'm not going to let this go. Somehow we're going to find what's right for you and for me. I'm not going to be satisfied until you're screaming at the top of your lungs, begging for more, so fess up."

Jessica looked at him for a moment and then looked away.

"Well?" he asked again, "Unless you start giving me some info, I'm going to have to go through all the possible scenarios. There's the strangers having sex in a movie theatre, there's the elevator bit, there's the wake-up sex ..."

Jessica flinched, and looked over at Scott.

"Absolutely not that one!" she said so emphatically he wondered whether she'd been fantasizing all along. Maybe he was misinterpreting her body language? Impossible! 

"Alright, no sleeping sex ... what instead? Tell me Jess ..."

Jessica slowly shook her head. "I don't know," she said.

"So, you feel nothing, nadda, zilch?" Scott asked, hoping it wasn't true.

Jessica shook her head again, "Nothing," she confirmed. Scott sat in silence, staring at her. On the one hand he was thrilled that she was speaking to him about it, yet he had dreaded that answer. What now?

"Alright, " he said, "I can work with that ... I'm going to get you some books," he said an idea coming to him, "just between you and me. Maybe in one of them you'll find that something that gets you going. Okay? Will you read them for me?"

"Scott ... "Jessica began.

"All you have to do is read them. I promise, I will not touch you that way again until you find something that works for you. Okay?"

Jessica exhaled. "Alright," she said, "just don't get your hopes up," she said, "because, I doubt I'll find anything, I think I'm just broken."

"Jessica!" Scott exclaimed, taking her in his arms, feeling like the biggest heel in history, "you are not broken!" He kissed the top of her head as he held her as tight as he could. "You just haven't found your thing yet. Hey, maybe it involves horseback riding! You sure get excited about that!" 

Jessica looked at him. "Do you think Riley will really let me?"

"If Riley said so, he will. So long as you live up to your end of the deal."

"Hmmm." Jessica said turning her eyes to the ceiling again.

"Hmmm?" Scott asked.

"I just don't get Riley and Angus, they were so different today, so calm. Once I realized what I'd done, I thought for sure I was going to be in trouble. But nothing happened."

"Probably because Jim had given you permission to ride Ebony, I think they didn't mind so much."

"I guess ..." Jessica said still staring at the ceiling. There was something about her tone ...

"You guess what?" 

"It turns out that Jim didn't really give me permission."

"What?" Scott asked.

"Well, I tried to ask, and I guess there was a snake that distracted Jim, I wanted to ride so badly ..."

Why was she telling him this? Scott wondered what sort of scheme she had figured out. And Jim had lied? What the hell? 

Scott rolled onto Jessica, straddling her, he pinned her hands above her head. He stared down at her. He didn't like this, he felt like he was being played somehow. Jessica stared back at him in surprise. He struggled with his emotions, wondered what he should do next when he remembered something Jim had said to Josh and him. They had been asking him how he could be so damn sure that Jessica was being honest with him, when he'd said, "she tells me things, things that let me know I can trust her. When it happens to you, you'll know what I mean."

Was this it? 

"Why did you tell me that? I could go to Riley right now and tell him the truth. Not only would you not be going horseback riding with me ... ever, you'd lose all your privileges and probably get a good beating out of it too!"

Fear replaced Jessica's surprise. She looked trapped, terrified, and .... betrayed? Had she expected duplicity from him? "Well?" he demanded.

"It ... it just came out. I'd tried to ask, I thought I had asked ... but Jim said that he never really answered me. I guess I thought ... it was just a misunderstanding. I didn't think you'd get angry. If you don't want me to tell you next time, I won't."

They stared at each other. She'd put him into a hell of a position. If he said something to Riley, he was betraying her. If he didn't, he was betraying Riley and the other men. Plus, he was making himself her accomplice. It seemed that Jim had already gone down that road. Well, there was only one thing to do. Use it to his advantage. Two could play at this game.

"No, you weren't wrong. I'll keep this to myself, and I appreciate your honesty. I guess my only problem is knowing whether to trust you or not. How can I be certain that you aren't just using me?"

"Scott, I wouldn't lie to you!" Jessica said as if the possibility that she would was completely outrageous.

"Of course not," he said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "Just like the time you didn't pretend to choke on a grape so you could break my nose with your head."

Jessica ducked her head. Of course he wouldn't believe her!

"Or all the other zillion times you manipulated me into a position of vulnerability." Scott continued. "No, this time, I'm sure you wouldn't lie to me, but I would be more certain of it if I felt a stronger connection with you ... if I felt that you really enjoyed being with me, felt passionate about me ..."

Jessica swallowed. "Scott, I don't know how to ..."

"If," Scott interrupted, "you were to really try and find some way to enjoy yourself with me ... find some way to enjoy it, I'd feel like I could trust you."

Jessica looked lost. Scott felt a pang of guilt. What if she were being honest? What would the advantage be to her taking a risk on telling him the truth? She could've lost everything in a split second.




Lisa Ch. 03: Learning



"Just read the books that I bring you, and try, okay? That's all I ask."

"Okay," she said, but still had the deer in the headlights look. He realized that he was squeezing her wrists, hard. He let go, and slid off of her. Lying down beside her he stared at the ceiling. 

What was wrong with him? He was looking for signs that he could trust her and here she'd thrown a really big sign in his lap, and all he could do was see it as proof that she was plotting something. Christ. Well, he'd take a chance on her, but if she pulled a fast one on him, he'd make her pay, one way or another.

"Come here Jess," he said turning toward her and pulling her to him. "I appreciate your honesty. I'm just tired I guess, and frustrated. Just promise me that you'll do your best to find something that turns you on, please."

"All right," Jessica mumbled.

"Now that sounds convincing!" Scott said. "At least try to say it in a tone that inspires me to think that you'll really try." 

"But what if there isn't anything?" Jessica asked in quiet voice.

"There is." Scott answered. "You're not broken Jessica. You'll ... we'll find it."

"But how will I know I've found it?" Jessica asked 

"Believe me Jess, it'll be obvious. It'll feel good, really good, and you won't be able to get enough of it." Jessica grunted in disbelief. "It's true. It'll be an all consuming passion ... you'll have your hands all over me, you'll be begging for more! I'll have to hide from you, just to get some rest ... I'm exhausted just thinking about it."

Jessica giggled as Scott brought his hand to his chin and pretended to be reconsidering the whole thing. He liked the sound of that laugh. He pulled Jessica closer to him and kissed the top of her head. 

"You'll like it Jessica, I promise. Now, let's go to sleep before I have to back down on my promise to not touch you in all the places that I really want to touch you."

He went to the bedroom door, locked it, put away the key, and turned off the lights. Getting back into bed, he wrapped his arms around Jessica, and tried to imagine what a ninety year old woman would look like naked. 

'Yup, that did it.' Scott thought to himself as he closed his eyes and shuddered.

Jessica lay in the dark, listening to Scott snore. Why had she told Scott the truth? She hadn't done it intentionally, it had just come out. What if he changed his mind and went to Riley with the truth? Everything would be lost. And now she was stuck with the impossible task of finding a way to enjoy Scott's violation of her. Couldn't it be enough that she'd found a way to tolerate it? Apparently not. For some reason Scott seemed to believe that she was supposed to be enjoying his poking and prodding. What was she going to do? Things were moving so quickly, and getting better, that Jessica couldn't stand to consider going back to how things had been. God, her family must be in heaven looking down at her with disgust. She felt tears pool in her eyes. 'I'm sorry,' she said and blissfully felt sleep overcome her. 

"No!" the cry was so loud Scott jumped in the bed. He opened his eyes to see Jessica writhing on the bed. "Mom! Mom! Dad! Please, please, don't let them take me, don't leave me alone!" she screamed and a wail punctuated the sentence.

"Jessica! Jessica!" Scott was saying, taking her by the shoulders and shaking. "Wake-up!"

"I want to go home!" Jessica cried, "Please ... I want to go home!"

"Shhh, go to sleep," Scott whispered, wishing these damn dreams would just go away. Every night, for the past two years, Jessica cried and had nightmares. When was it ever going to change? She fought less now ... he could touch her without getting a broken nose, but her emotional pain never seemed to diminish.

"Marcus, Cain! Jeffery ... Jeffery! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! " She screamed and bolted upright. "They're dead! They're all dead!"

"Jessica," Scott said attempting to sound calm and comforting. He began to pull her into his arms. She resisted. "Come here Jessica, it's just a bad dream ... that's all ..."

"No," she said shaking her head and planting her hands on his chest, pushing him away as hard as she could. "They're all dead, and you killed them!"

"Jessica, listen to me!" Scott gripped her forearms and shook her, "You're having a bad dream ... go back to sleep!"

"Mom," Jessica muttered as she fell against him. And in the next minute, she was fast asleep. 

Scott's heart pounded in his rib cage. Jessica lay limp against him. Suddenly he felt like he couldn't breath. He lay her down beside him, and got up from the bed. He paced. 

Jesus Christ! Even though she almost always said the same thing every time she had a nightmare, Scott just couldn't get past the 'and you killed them!' part. Funny, since he had killed them ... but night after night of being reminded of it was too much. Sexually frustrated, and now this ... he needed a drink. 

He unlocked the set of handcuffs he had hanging on the bed post, handcuffed Jessica's hand to the post, locked the bedroom door behind him, and made his way to the bar the in the living room. Unlocking it he extracted a bottle of whiskey and he didn't even bother looking for a glass. He took four good pulls from the bottle ... 'screw it', he thought as he re-locked the cabinet and took the bottle back to the bedroom with him. If nothing else the booze would help him fall to sleep. 

He uncuffed Jessica, not even wanting to imagine how she'd react if she awoke to find herself cuffed, and got in on his side of the bed. 

It had been a messy job that day ... lots of chaos, lots of blood ... but for some reason the only thing that really stuck in his mind was the memory of the young girl screaming in the back seat of the limo ... Scott shuddered. He put the whiskey bottle to his lips, tilted his head and guzzled. A warmth spread through him, and he began to feel sleepy. As he drifted off, he remembered that girl again. As he came closer to her in his memory, he could make out what she was screaming as she looked at the corpses around her ... "Mom! Dad! Marcus! Cain! Jeffery!" 

To be continued ...



Lisa Ch. 04: Reminded Of Her Place



Authors note: I have feedback on private so if you submit a comment and would like me to get back to you, please include your email address. Thanks:)

... continued

The next night

Josh turned the deadbolt on the bedroom door. He placed the key in his small strong box with the combination lock. He kept the handcuffs and shackles in that box also, he hoped he'd never need to use them again. Given how the week had gone ... relatively calm, Jessica eating, and behaving as she should, for the first time he felt that his hopes would really come true. Locking it, he placed it on the floor next to his side of the bed. 

Jessica moved to the chest of drawers and pulled out her pajamas. Back turned to Josh, she undressed. Josh watched her bare backside disappear into a pair of his light cotton sleep pants. He saw the muscles between her shoulder blades work, as she pulled the top over her head. Without so much as a glance at him, she jumped into the bed and under the covers. He thought it cute that she held so firmly to her privacy. He couldn't see it working with Riley or Angus, which was part of the reason that he humored her so much. If this was what she needed from him, so be it. 

She reached on the bedside table and picked-up an Archie comic. She looked over to where one lay on his bedside table.

"Reading?" she asked. Josh pulled off his shirt, and dropped his pants. He kept his underwear on, Jessica always seemed to appreciate that. He got in the bed beside her.

"Of course," he said, "but I have something to show you first." 

He reached in the drawer of his bedside table and pulled out a black notebook. He opened to the first page and handed it to Jessica. She took it.

"Josh!" she exclaimed leafing through the pages, "You did it! You really did it! This is fantastic!" 

Josh smiled as Jessica went back to the beginning and read. They shared a love of comic books, and last week she happened to catch a glimpse of some of the doodling he'd been doing. She'd completely freaked out, impressed by something he'd just considered to be a hobby. He was surprised to see how excited she was for him. She insisted that he try and make his own comic book. He of course, had no clue how to do it. He wasn't a person who comedy came to naturally, so something like Archie, just wouldn't work. He could still remember the look on her face as she knelt on the bed, notebook in hand, waving it around as words spilled out of her mouth. 

"It doesn't have to be funny!" She'd said. "Spiderman, Batman, a lot of comics are dark, real dark. You could do anything ... some sci fi thing, outer space, that kind of story. Josh, you have such a great talent. Don't waste it!"

She'd been stoked, which in turn had electrified him. Every night since, he'd worked like a madman on his comic. 

"The Venusian Princess' name is Acissej?" she asked peeking up from the page that she was on. A small smile crept on her lips, and then it grew. "Let me guess ... she's in love with a Venusian Prince named Shoj?" 

"Actually," Josh replied loving every second that beautiful smile graced her face, "Shoj is a Martian Prince, and he's working on getting her to love him." 

Jessica held his gaze for a moment. A light shade of pink grew on her cheeks as she returned her eyes to the notebook. He watched her read, and re-read the part about how the prince declared his love for the princess. Her father had given her to him in marriage to try and secure peace between the two worlds. The cultures were so different that there was conflict between the two over every trivial thing. But the Prince didn't care. He wanted her and he'd find some way to make it work. Jessica closed the notebook and sat looking at the front cover.

"Get it? Men are from Mars ... " he said. "Think I should finish the story?" 

"Oh yeah. Are the Martians and Venusians going to go to war? Over something so stupid?" Jessica said, holding the notebook out to him.

"Hey, the Venusians giving the Martians the finger is nothing to be taken lightly!"

"The Venusians only have one finger ... " Jessica replied picturing the one long finger that Josh had drawn growing directly from the wrist. No hand existed. "Oh geez!" she exclaimed and laughed. "I thought you said you couldn't be funny!" Jessica said. Josh shrugged. Maybe he had talents he didn't know about. 

He leaned in to Jessica, his shoulder against hers. He felt a pulling in his groin. The Venusian Princess that he'd created, despite being digitally challenged, had small perky breasts, much like Jessica's. She also shared the same inviting curves and backside. As he'd drawn the Princess, he had recalled every vivid detail of Jessica's body. His groin had reacted in very much the same fashion that it did now, only this time he wouldn't have to rely on self-service to relieve it. 

As Josh took the notebook back his fingers brushed over Jessica's hand. She withdrew her hand, but not as quickly as was her habit. Expecting a faster retreat, Josh over reached and grabbed her upper arm rather than her hand. 'Just as good,' he thought as he pulled her to him.

"How about some comedy?" Jessica asked waving the Archie comic as the distance closed between them. Josh took the comic from Jessica's hand

"I actually had something more dramatic in mind," he said tossing the comic book and bringing his other hand to Jessica's thigh. "Something a little more adult ..." 

Encircling her legs with his arm, he slid her down the bed, onto her back. He stuck his head under her shirt and kissed her stomach. He kissed his way up until his mouth found her breast. He nibbled the nipple.

"Something, " he said after pulling the nipple to its zenith and then letting it escape, his right hand finding the elastic of her pants and sliding behind it, "more x rated .." his fingers found her warm, private, flesh. 

He felt a white hot heat sear through his body as his manhood came to full, vibrant attention. There was nothing it wanted more than to get into the opening that his fingers now thrust into. He worked vigorously, not sure he could last to Jessica's climax. 

He looked up, and as usual Jessica was staring at the ceiling, her head slightly tilted. She was always the silent type, but then there was the almost imperceptible tilt of her head, and the wetness that seeped through his fingers. Moments later, her legs twitched in response to the caresses he still administered between her lips. 

These were the signs he was looking for. In a near frenzy, he pulled Jessica's pajama bottoms off, and forced himself between her legs. He entered her with a fluid thrust. His hands held her shoulders and pushed her onto him as his pelvis drove up. If felt so damn good! He kissed her neck, her ears, her cheeks, he found her lips and his tongue bore into her mouth and explored. It found her tongue and stroked it. His pleasure mounted, he couldn't wait any longer! 

"Uhhh!" Josh exclaimed, as his face pressed onto the pillow next to Jessica's head. He turned to kiss her neck. That took the last ounce of strength he had, and sleep overtook him.

Jessica lay beneath Josh and listened to him snore. She didn't look forward to the night to come. It didn't make any sense. How could he be so different in the middle of the night than during the day or early evening? It wasn't like she enjoyed his pawing and sexual use when they first came to bed, but at least then he was civil. But this middle of the night thing was so much the opposite of that. He ignored her when she spoke to him. And he always had that funny look on his face. Even in the dark, her eyes would adjust enough for her to see his blank expression. Jessica shuddered. It was almost like he was another person. A thought ricocheted in her mind. Could he be asleep?

Jessica considered that. It made more sense than split personalities. The more she thought about it, the more she thought it was likely the case. So, if he were asleep, would he wake up if he couldn't find her? 

There was only one way to find out. The thought sent a wave of terror through her. The logistics of that seemed overwhelming. 

Jessica tried to shift slightly beneath Josh. She could barely move. If she were going to stay awake until he tried to ... if she were going to try and stay out of his grasp, she'd have to get out from under him first. Jessica stared at the ceiling in frustration. There was no way she could get out from under him without waking him. The likelihood of what that would lead to made Jessica consider reconsidering. On the plus side he could get the deed over with earlier and maybe he'd leave her alone then and she could get a good night's sleep. But if she could get out from under him without waking him. What then? She'd have to stay awake. Waiting for him to try ... and then make sure he couldn't reach her.

What if he woke up? What if he was unhappy that she'd tried to avoid him and told Riley? What if Riley took away all of her freedoms? 

But there was a chance that he wouldn't wake up. There was a chance that he'd just continue sleeping when he couldn't find her ... if he really was sleeping during the attacks. Was it worth taking the risk? 

Yes. Aside from Angus, Josh's late night assaults were the next big source of pain for her. This was not an issue with Jimmy, with Scott, things seemed to be getting better. Riley. Well, Riley was Riley but he didn't use sex as a weapon the way Angus did. Jessica squeezed her eyes shut. She'd forsaken her immediate mission to avenge her family in order to gain freedoms. And to hopefully avenge her family at some time in the future. Part of her still felt guilty about that. Perhaps, if she lost those freedoms now, it wouldn't be such a bad thing. Perhaps it would be a sort of cosmic justice. 

Right. So, she'd get out from under him somehow, and then stay awake and when he tried ... she'd move out of his reach. Hopefully that'd be enough to stop him. And then, if he truly were sleeping, then she could at least put her feelings about him in some kind of order. It was hard to know what she should feel toward him. On one hand he'd rape her and then on the other he came up with Princess acisseJ and Prince uashoJ? 

What the heck was that? She had been joking when she'd asked Josh about the characters in his comic falling in love. She felt heat spread over her cheeks as she remembered Josh saying the Prince was trying to get the Princess to love him. Were those characters really supposed to be based on him and her? That was impossible. But the storyline, two different worlds, conflict over everything, and the expression on Josh's face. If it were true, then Josh couldn't hate her anymore. Maybe hate was too strong a word. She knew he didn't hate her anymore. And she knew that Jim and Scott didn't either. She seemed to have come to some kind of truce with those three. So, what Josh did to her in the middle of the night just didn't make sense. 

'May as well get on with it.' Jessica said to herself and turned her attention to getting out from underneath Josh. She tried to shift a little again but she couldn't. She tried a little harder and then paused, certain that he'd wake up. When he didn't she decided to go for broke. She wiggled and shifted, push and twisted until she'd managed to free herself. Through it all, Josh didn't move.

Jessica lay panting from the effort. A shiver ran through her. As gently as she could, she sat up and reached for her pajama pants that were strewn over the bottom part of her bed. She pulled them on. She glanced over at Josh's night stand. The light continued to burn bright. If it was dark in the room it was more likely that he wouldn't wake up when he tried to ... when it happened. Jessica held her breath as she slid off of the bed and tiptoed around to the light. Flicking it off she hurried back to her side of the bed. Now she'd wait. 

Later that night Josh rolled over. He felt so good. Pleasure was steadily growing ... he reached out ... something was wrong. He moved his arm around the bed, reaching further and further as it continued to find nothing. He sat up, fully alert now. The light had been turned off. He was still naked, the blankets were askew, and the bed was empty.

"Jessica?" he asked moving over the empty space next to him. It wasn't his imagination, she was gone. Fear rushed over him. 

"Jessica!" he said more forcefully. In the dark somewhere beyond the bed, he heard what sounded like a hushed "Oh". He crawled to the far edge of the bed. She definitely wasn't there. He reached up and turned on the bedside lamp. He blinked in the light. As his eyes adjusted he saw Jessica standing a foot from the bed, hunched over, clutching a pillow against her chest. She seemed frozen in place, staring at him. 

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

Jessica couldn't speak. How could she explain this?

"Get over here!" He ordered, indicating the bed. Jessica tried to judge his mood. He looked, confused. Taking advantage of his relative calm, Jessica moved to the bed, and placed her pillow on the bed. She followed behind it, sitting cross-legged on the bed, her hands wringing nervously before her. 

Josh eyed her. She'd put her pajama bottoms back on ... how the hell had he managed to sleep through that? 

"Let's try this again ... what were you doing out of bed?"

Jessica couldn't think of anything to say except the truth.

"I just wanted to get a full nights rest, that's all. We'd already ... you know. I was waiting for you to ... to try ... I thought maybe if you couldn't touch me ..." Jessica stopped talking. As she'd been speaking Josh's expression began to change. He still looked confused but he was beginning to look angry too. Was it better to say more, or less?

"That's a lot of thinking and wanting for someone who's supposed to stay put!" Josh said, his mood turning black quickly. This could've been a disaster. What if she'd managed to get the strong box opened, taken the key and let herself out? Jesus! 

"Just what did you think was going to happen Jess? I was fast asleep trying to get a full night's rest, just like you."

"I thought that you would, you know ... like it always is ..." Jessica said lowering her head. She seemed embarrassed about something. She seemed genuine in her response, but Josh couldn't for the life of him, figure out what she was worried about.

"Jess, you're going to have to be a lot clearer than that, and fast. I'm beginning to lose my patience. You're never supposed to get out of bed without me. Never! Now explain to me why you chose to ignore that rule!"

Jessica didn't know what to say. It was so embarrassing. It was bad enough that Scott insisted on talking about sex with her. Now Josh wanted a full blown explanation as to why she didn't want him doing it with her when she'd rather be sleeping? Jessica shifted nervously on the bed. 

"Well?" Josh prompted.

Jessica didn't say anything.

"Fine," Josh said and reached down beside the bed for the safety box. In seconds he had the pair of handcuffs and turned back to her.

Jessica's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw the cuffs.

"No! Josh, please!" she scrambled away from him.

"Hold it right there!" He said pointing his finger at her, "Don't you dare run away from me! You are the one in the wrong, not me! So you get yourself back here and give me your hand!"

Jessica didn't move..

"If I have to come and get you Jess, things are going to get really ugly. Get over here now!"

Jessica moved toward him. He looked really mad, madder than she'd seen him in a while. 

"Your hand,"

Jessica put her hand out to him. It was shaking, and Jessica sniffled. Looking up Josh was annoyed to see tears running down her cheeks. 

Goddamn it! They'd come so far, her and him, why were they back to this? Josh grabbed her wrist and pulled. Jessica fell against him. He pushed her against the headboard of the bed and brought his face within inches of hers.

"This is your last chance before I re-cuff, leash and tie you up again! Tell me why you were out of bed. Now!" 

Jessica stared into his eyes. Did he really not know? Could he really be raping her in his sleep? Maybe he only woke up now because he couldn't find her? Jessica still had a hard time believing it. Highly unlikely. But he was giving her a chance to keep her freedom. 

"I just don't like it when I'm asleep, being woken up like that ... maybe it could just wait until the morning?" her voice trailed off. While Josh couldn't make any sense out of what she was saying, there was a timidness in her voice that often appeared whenever sex was a topic. 

"'K Jess, I'm not sure what you thought was going to happen here tonight, but you were asleep, and I was asleep ..."

" I'm always asleep and it happens anyway ..." Jessica replied a trace of indignation in her voice.

"Wait a minute!" Josh interrupted, an unsettled feeling coming over him. "Just what exactly is 'it'?"

Jessica lowered her head again, cheeks red.

"No Jess, I'm not playing some sort of game here. I really need to know what you think happens when you're asleep."

Jessica looked up at him. She studied him. Finally she said, "You touch me, and stuff ... "

"I do not!" Josh replied, suddenly feeling queasy. 

"You do to!" Jessica replied.

"I don't, but if I did, and you didn't like it, why wouldn't you say so?"

"I do say so, the whole time, but you just ignore me!" Jessica said.

There it was. That look. The one she'd had for months after the night he'd raped her. With a great deal of guilt, he recalled the first time they'd had sex. 

He shouldn't have done it, she wasn't ready. But, he'd gotten started, and even though his mind was screaming to stop, his body couldn't. He knew what he'd done to her. He was a rapist, and it made him sick to his stomach. She had cried for the whole night afterward. She had let him hold her though, and he'd cried with her. 

Memories of the other girl he'd done this to came flooding back to him. Jimmy's sister ... Jimmy didn't know, thank God, but he and she'd been dating. One thing had led to another. She'd killed herself not long afterwards ... Then Jessica. That had been two years ago. It had been a long, slow, process to get back on track. He was intent on not letting Jessica come to the same end that Pam had. 

He hadn't trusted himself to not rape her if he lost control again. But the only way to ensure that he didn't lose control was to not have sex with Jessica, and that wasn't an option. 

She'd become an obsession. Somehow he'd had to make it up to her ... make it good for her. About six months after the rape, he'd told Jessica she could tell him to stop at any time, she hadn't said anything as he explored her body. He loved her gently, carefully, after that. He made it good for her ... in fact he could say with certainty that it was better than good. She'd always been quiet, subdued, but eventually he'd managed to get some reactions from her. 

So what the hell was going on? Was he so sick that he raped Jessica subconsciously? He'd heard of sleep walking, but sleep raping? Was it possible? 

"Look, Jessica, if this really does happen, I didn't know ... " 

'Oh God! The dreams!' Josh thought to himself. He felt ill. 

Maybe, maybe, what he'd thought to be really good dreams, weren't. 

"I think I may have been dreaming when I did those things," he finally said. He looked at her, convinced he'd find disbelief, accusation, hatred, in her expression. But they weren't there. 

Jessica nodded slightly, "I know." 

"Has it happened every night you've spent with me?" Josh asked, his voice a whisper. He wasn't sure that he wanted the answer.

Jessica nodded.

How many times had Jessica told him to stop, and he hadn't? Christ! He felt the bile rise in his throat. 




Lisa Ch. 04: Reminded Of Her Place



He leaned over the side of the bed just as the vomit projectiled out and onto the floor. He heaved and retched and when there was nothing left to bring up, he dry heaved. As he panted over his vomit he felt a light pressure on his back.

"Are you alright?" Jessica said appearing beside him. She rubbed her hand back and forth on his back.

"Stay here," he ordered as he headed for the bathroom. He left his bedroom and the bathroom doors open so he could see Jessica. After cleaning himself up, he grabbed a towel and mopping bucket from the linen closet in the hallway. Filling the bucket, he returned to the room. Jessica sat watching him clean up. Neither said a word. 

Once the floor was clean and the bucket and towel returned to the bathroom, Josh re-locked the door. Without a word he took a pillow and the bed sheet and threw them on the floor next to his side of the bed. Pulling the blanket on the bed back, he moved Jessica's pillow over, took her by her forearms and pushed her back onto the bed, her head on the pillow. He pulled the cover up to her chin, turned off the light, and lay down on the floor.

Silence followed, and soon Josh could hear Jessica snoring lightly. He lay awake, unsure what he could do to fix this apparent psychosis he had. 

It seemed that he was a natural born rapist. 

She could've been making it up. Josh entertained that possibility for barely a second. Deep down, he knew it was true. Why hadn't she told him ... when they were both awake? She didn't seem to have much trouble telling him when other things bugged her. 

He was painfully aware that she hated broccoli, country and western music, and runny eggs. She also made it pretty clear when she wasn't interested in having sex ... while they were awake. Most of the time she was good to go, but there were times when she simply said 'no', verbally or non-verbally. 

Of course, if she'd been saying no while he was at it, and he didn't listen, she probably saw no point in bringing it up, any other time. Great. As far as Jessica was concerned he was an asshole who took what he wanted, when he wanted it. There was nothing he wanted more right then, than to wake Jessica up and plead his innocence again, but the last thing he needed was to be anywhere near her when she slept. She'd probably think he was back for more. It'd have to wait till morning. It was going to be a long night. He doubted that he'd be able to sleep.

*************************************************

Josh yawned as he sat on the toilet seat. As he'd predicted, he hadn't slept a wink. To add to his guilt, he had the opportunity to listen to Jessica cry, thrash, and scream through her nightmares. At least when he actually slept, only the screams woke him up. He never knew what to say to Jessica that would be good enough to make up for the pain and despair that she felt when she dreamt. 

To try and console her throughout the night, he'd put his arm around her until she'd stopped crying. He had to have been up and down on that bed at least twenty times.

The broken sleep had not kept Jessica from waking up early, and she'd needed to use the bathroom. As soon as she was in the bathroom, she asked to take a shower. 

Oh yes, apparently something else she hated, showering with him. He'd parked himself on the toilet as Jessica all too merrily got into the shower. He could just make out her from behind the shower curtain. 

He'd thought all night about a solution, but it got him nowhere. He was disgusted with himself, yes, but one thing had kept coming to mind the previous night. And it came back to him now as he watched Jessica's silhouette move around behind the curtain. 

She hadn't told him. 

Rather than look him in the eye, while he was awake and not in the middle of a sexual act, and tell him that what he was doing at night bothered her, she had decided to risk everything and climb out of his bed without permission. She had to have known that he wouldn't react well to that ... hell, had it been Riley or Angus she would've been nothing but a bloody lump when they were through. 

He had to make sure something like that never happened again. 

"Jessica!" he said, moving to the shower and pulling the shower curtain back. 

Jessica jumped in surprise. She had shampoo in her hair, and her arms flew up over her chest, hiding her breasts. She felt betrayed and it showed on her face. 

"I'm not coming in, calm down." Josh mumbled. Disappointment in the knowledge that she clearly wanted him nowhere near her, overwhelming him.

Jessica's demeanor didn't change and he got the distinct impression that she didn't believe him. He wavered for a moment ... she had every reason to not trust him, maybe he'd wait and talk to her later. But the memory of the fear he'd felt when he'd woken to find her missing from his bed came back to him. If nothing else, he had to make it clear to her that she was not to do something like that again.

"What you did last night, will never happen again. Understand?" 

Jessica nodded. "I'm sorry," she said. She was grateful that he hadn't revoked her freedoms. And his reaction when he realized what he'd been doing was far beyond anything Jessica would have anticipated. There was little doubt that he truly was sorry about it.

"You'd better be. The next time something like that happens, I'm not giving you a chance for explanation. If you have a problem with me, you tell me. And I mean well before you pull some stupid stunt, not after. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good." 

And he let the curtain drop. Standing on the other side of the curtain, Josh had a strong urge to forget the deal he made and join her. He knew how she'd feel against him, all wet and warm. The smell of the soap wafting up his nose. 

'Jesus!' he thought to himself , 'what kind of a pig am I?' The initial rape had been bad. But it had been during the waking hours and it had been a one-time thing. Even with Pam, it had been once, in the heat of the moment.

Both he and Jessica managed to get past that, but this night time stuff, stuff that he couldn't remember ... and then just now, knowing that Jessica wanted to be alone, yet almost ready to ignore her wishes ... guilt was making a return. 

He was going to have to make it up to her, somehow. Leaving her alone while she showered, seemed like a good start. 

**************************************************

Jessica exhaled. This had to be the strangest magazine she'd ever read. And the strange tightening of the muscles between her legs as she looked at the pictures of the naked men and women confused her. 

When she looked up, embarrassment pulsed through her. Scott sat on the bed watching her. The smirk beginning to form on his lips made it clear he knew what she was feeling. 

"They're pretty good mags, aren't they?" he asked and was glad she'd opted to sit on the floor rather than next to him on the bed. 

He had a promise to keep and it wasn't going to be easy. The blush that spread across Jessica's cheeks was encouraging. 

"Do you see anything in particular that works for you?" He asked, trying to peek at the page she had open. Jessica shook her head. Scott inhaled. Getting her to read the magazines was the easy part. Now for the hard part. He lifted the tube he was holding in his hand.

"I've got this stuff," he said holding it up, "that'll help you enjoy the magazines even more."

Jessica looked at the tube and then down at the magazine, and then back at the tube. Scott chuckled. She looked thoroughly confused. "Trust me, it'll help. All you have to do is put some of this on your love nub. Take it, and I'll give you some privacy."

Jessica took the tube when Scott waved it before her for the third time. 

"Yeah, I guess you kind of have to be on the bed ... " and he uncuffed her, recuffing her once Jessica settled on the bed.

"Go for it ... this stuff is supposed to be like catnip for the clitoris ... I'll give you a couple of minutes." And he turned his back. He stared at the ceiling trying not to get too worked up with the image of Jessica exposing herself behind him and applying the cream to that part that he so wanted to be rubbing himself. But he soon realized that he couldn't hear Jessica moving on the bed behind him. He looked over his shoulder and found Jessica sitting on the bed staring at the tube.

"What's the matter?" he asked. 

Jessica shrugged. "What is a love nub?" 

"Your clitoris." Scott replied with a chuckle, "You know ... love nub." 

Jessica looked just as confused as she had before. 

Scott stared at her, stunned. 

"You don't know what your clitoris is?"

"I know what it is." Jessica said in indignation, but her face flamed red.

"Okay, so put that on it. You do know where it is right?" Scott asked when Jessica just turned redder and slid her eyes down to her hands that held the tube. 

"Jessica, you have had sex before right? Before you came here, before us?" He asked. 

"Never?" he said when Jessica shook her head and he couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. He mentally kicked himself when Jessica seemed to shrink, pulling her legs up to her chest and curling in to herself. 

"But you did play with yourself, right? Masturbate?" He added but when Jessica turned redder and shook her head he exhaled, "Oh, well that explains a lot. You do understand why people masturbate?" 

Jessica continued staring at her hands.

He wondered if he should be concerned about the fact that the realization that Jessica had no sexual education at all didn't make him feel guilty in any way, and in fact made him even hornier. 

There had to be something wrong with that. Well, he had two choices at this point. Either apply the cream for Jessica right now and test the boundaries of his self-control or, wait a bit longer until he had the opportunity to get her a book about the human body. And she'd had the chance to read it. 

Well, he always prided himself on his self-control.

"People are the luckiest animals in the animal world Jessica," Scott began, almost sat down beside Jessica, thought better of it and shifted his weight between his legs trying to find a comfortable stance in which to continue. 

"Animals have sex to reproduce just like us humans do," Scott continued but gave up on getting comfortable and began to pace. "But they don't get to enjoy it like us humans do. Well, except for pigs maybe. I heard somewhere that they can have multiple orgasms too. Maybe that's why bacon tastes so good ... " he laughed but when he noticed Jessica wasn't laughing with him he cleared his throat. 

"The point is that humans were given the body parts so they can enjoy sex ...and so they can do it for fun, not just to reproduce." 

Jessica looked at Scott like he was short a card or two in his playing deck. He laughed.

"No, it's true Jessica. And this," he said leaning over Jessica on the bed and taking the tube from her hand, "will help me prove it to you. Men feel pleasure with their penis, and women with their clitoris. It's small nub in your vagina." Jessica's perplexed look didn't falter. "It's down by your pee hole. When it gets rubbed it brings you to orgasm. Why do you think I keep trying to rub you down there?"

"Well, it doesn't work." Jessica said and tried to move back from Scott but Scott had put his left arm on the headboard, beside her head, and the other on her thigh. Exerting a little weight on her leg made it impossible for her to move.

"It does work. But some people need a little help to get the feeling going. This cream will help with that and ..." suddenly Scott had a brainwave. "And you'll have to practice."

"Practice?" 

"Yeah. Masturbation. You need to masturbate ... it'll help you."

"I don't know how to masturbate,"

"I know. I'll teach you. First we gotta lose your pants and get this cream on your clit ... "

A look of horror passed over Jessica's face and she tried to cross her legs. 

"I'll show you where to put the cream. I won't do more than that, I promise. And then every night that you're with me, you'll practice masturbating. I promise not to touch you while you do it ... at least not at first. But I wanna watch. Maybe masturbate a little myself."

Jessica was shaking her head.

"You promised, remember? Besides, you'll thank me for it. So what'll it be? Will you live up to your word or do you want to go through the rest of your life in a pleasureless existence? Oh, and let's not forget about the whole horseback riding thing ... that was part of the deal. Me, not telling Riley about Jimmy not really giving you permission. You know, a deal is a deal. What do you say? Should we get those pants off?"

Jessica closed her eyes and felt the burning blush that spread across her cheeks as Scott lowered himself between her now exposed private parts and used his fingers to poke around. Then she felt him apply something wet.

"There," he said getting up and replacing he cap onto the tube. "Okay, now right there, where I'd put the cream. Find it with your fingers."

A warmth began to spread through Jessica's private area. 

"Just think about the magazine's you were looking at. You can close your eyes if that helps. And you'll have to spread your legs ... come on Jessica, you have to try."

Jessica closed her eyes and found that oddly enough, when she thought about the naked bodies in the magazine, the tingling between her legs grew. She began to feel like touching herself there.

"Go ahead," Scott encouraged as Jessica had tentatively began to part her legs. His voice was husky and Jessica opened her eyes to find Scott laying back on the bed, his hand down his pants. 

Jessica closed her eyes again. As long as he wasn't touching her, she was happy. Jessica's hands found their way to her vagina and as they began caressing the area that tingled, a sudden rush of pleasure over took her. A tidal wave of ecstatic pleasure surprised Jessica so much that she cried out.

"Oh yeah!" Scott exclaimed as he too exploded. They lay on the bed panting.

"What did I tell you. Great wasn't it?" Scott asked. 

Jessica nodded. She couldn't believe how good that had felt. Residual pleasure lingered and surprisingly, she wanted it again. 

Was that why the men insisted on touching her down there? Scott had said so. She remembered back to the night he had first suggested that he'd help her enjoy herself. He'd expected her to enjoy it when he touched her between her legs. Not only Scott. Josh was always rubbing down there. But why would they want her to feel that kind of pleasure if they were trying to punish her? It made no sense.

"I can give you even better than that." Scott said. "But for now, you'll just put the cream on every day. Keep reading the magazines, and masturbate when you can. Eventually you'll want me to pleasure you. And then, all you have to do is ask. I've gotta go clean-up. Here are your underwear, unless you want to go for it again?" He threw Jessica's underwear to her. 

She heard the door lock once Scott pulled it closed behind him. Jessica pulled her underwear on as best she could with one hand. The tingling continued between her legs. It was oddly reassuring to understand now why the men liked to have sex. If they felt what she just had every time they used her, she could see that they were doing it for a better reason than to just hurt her. She wasn't so sure that she'd ever ask Scott to touch her ... but would definitely masturbate again. 

A sudden calm over came her and she felt sleepy. She pulled the blanket over herself and drifted off to sleep. 

Two weeks later

"What the hell is she doing here?" Angus demanded after entering the dog kennels and finding Jessica standing, clutching something small and black in her arms. 

Tears were streaming down her face, and she looked near hysteria. 

He felt an adrenaline rush. He knew that expression pretty well ... he saw it a lot but usually he was busy raising his fist and driving it into that expression, over and over again. It looked out of place here, and he flexed his fingers on his right hand, just to be sure he hadn't blanked out during an 'attitude adjustment'. 

Josh looked bewildered as he stood helplessly before her. Scott raced into the kennel, nearly running into Angus. He'd been working in the barns when a high, piercing, "No!" echoed through the barnyard. It had sounded like Jessica, and it had come from the kennel. If Jessica was anywhere but in the house, there was a problem since there had been no plan for her to come outside. He couldn't remember getting to the kennel.

"What's going on?" he demanded as he skidded to a halt and took in the scene. Whatever it was in Jessica's hands, it was moving. She was holding it tightly to her, and had half turned away from Josh.

"Josh!" Angus snapped when Josh stood staring at Jessica. "Hey! Josh! What the hell ..." Angus gave up on Josh and moved toward Jessica.

"He wants to kill it!" Jessica said turning to Angus. 

Angus paused when he saw a small, wriggling, black puppy in her arms. It was tiny, very tiny, and it's eyes were closed. Angus looked around the room and finally saw the female Rottweiller, Ginger, standing in her pen, staring intently at Jessica. Behind her were four other little black mounds, bumping awkwardly into one another. 

"It's a runt," Josh said to Angus. He turned back to Jessica and took a step toward her, his hands stretched out before him, as if he were trying to calm a nervous horse. 

"I don't want to kill it Jess, but it's the most humane thing to do. It'll never survive on its own. Tell her!" he said to Angus, "Tell her!" he practically yelled at Scott. He couldn't get the image of Jessica's face out of his mind ... when he'd told her that he'd put the pup out of its misery, she had looked at him like he was some kind of monster.

"Jess," Scott began, "that pup will never survive. It'll starve to death, or one of the other dogs will kill it. It's just going to suffer needlessly. In the wild there'd be no help for it ..."

"This isn't the wild Scott!" Jessica interrupted. "Killing it isn't the only option. I can help it, take care of it! Please!" she looked from Angus to Scott, to Josh. 

'What the fuck!' Angus thought to himself. Just figures that this would be the time that Riley would be in town. He and Jim had left earlier that morning, and weren't expected back until dinner time. 

His first instinct was to grab the damn dog from Jessica's arms and snap its little neck. That was what was done to runts. Plus the fact that Jessica was being way too bold ... since when did she talk to them like that? 

Ever since Riley had suggested Angus go easy on Jessica things had moved at a faster pace than Angus felt able to keep up with. He had some concerns and was waiting for a reason to take them up with Jessica, but something made him hesitate. Jessica wasn't supposed to be out here to begin with, and by the looks of things this whole situation was Josh's doing. Even so, Angus' motto was that no matter what, Jessica was to blame. Jessica was to punish. But he had his coddling orders. 

He took a deep breath. He hated this, and he was going to make sure that Riley knew it.

"Give me the dog," he said in a surprisingly calm voice. 

Jessica paused. She sniffled as she placed a kiss on the dog's head. It terrified her to consider what Angus might do to it if she handed it over; but what terrified her even more was knowing what Angus would do to it if she didn't give it to him. 

Hesitantly, she handed the dog to him.

Angus' surprise was evident on his face. He hadn't expected her to trust him with it. He stared at her for a long moment. In the past he could always find some way to argue that Jessica's behavior in some way benefited her plans to escape, but in this case he couldn't see one. It was a puppy whose life she was trying to save, and yet she entrusted it to him. 




Lisa Ch. 04: Reminded Of Her Place



Life had gotten complicated lately, and this didn't help matters. He held the pup away from himself, as if it were something distasteful, and turned to Josh.

"Jessica is out here, why?"

"The pups were born," Josh replied watching Jessica, "I thought she'd like to see them ..."

"Right." Angus interrupted. Just like he'd thought. Well, he wasn't going to be the bad guy in this. He handed the dog to Josh. "You deal with it. Just remember that whatever you do, you'll have to explain it to Riley. Come on Scott, this is Josh's mess, let him clean it up." And he turned on his heel and left. Scott was confused as he followed Angus. It wasn't like Angus to turn his back on a situation that involved Jessica. 

"Jess," Josh began, "I'm not trying to be cruel. I'd hoped you'd know that ... I mean do I look like a puppy killer to you? You know how much I like the dogs!"

"I know, I'm sorry, " she said moving closer to Josh. She stood petting the puppy that rested in his arms. "But there's a better way Josh, really! It just needs a little help to start off. Please let me take care of it!" 

"Jess, the kind of help you're talking about requires round the clock care. Feedings a dozen times a day, it's a lot of work."

"I know. But what else am I doing?" she asked and nestled her nose into the puppy. "Please?" 

Josh hesitated. How was he going to explain this to Riley? Well, he was going to have to think of something because he could never, ever, stand to see that look on Jessica's face again. When she'd realized what he'd planned to do ... she'd acted as if he were Charles Manson.

"All right, all right. Just until the puppy is able to survive on its own."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Jessica yelled, jumping up and down, and then planting a kiss on Josh's lips. 

"Come here Baby," she said taking the dog from Josh. "That's as good a name as any for you, isn't it?" she cooed to the puppy as she lifted it above her head so she could look up into its face. She kissed it, and then hugged it to her chest. "I guess we'll need some baby bottles, a doggy basket, and some milk ... regular milk, do you think?"

"I don't know," Josh replied, too distracted to really hear her. 

What if Riley came home and put an end to the whole thing? Jessica was going to be even more crushed than if Josh'd just finished the dog off to begin with.

"Maybe not milk, maybe formula. You know baby formula ... that'd be better."

"Isn't baby formula for human babies?" Josh muttered.

"A baby is a baby, isn't it?" Jessica asked. "Besides, Riley will know." 

With the mention of Riley's name, Jessica finally realized that they still had to get this past him. She looked at Josh with a blank expression, which quickly turned to a silent plea. 

Josh shook his head. "I can't promise anything Jess. Riley may be hard to convince."

"You can do it," Jessica said looking up at him, holding the puppy up beside her face. "you can convince Riley. Baby and I are counting on you." Josh felt a lump in his throat. She sounded so sure, so confident. 

Suddenly he wanted to start the day over again.

Scott and Angus watched Jessica and Josh emerge from the kennel. Jessica held the puppy in her arms. Angus turned away. He didn't want to know. Scott intercepted them on their way to the house. Jessica was looking pretty happy.

"So?" Scott asked. 

"We're going to take care of Baby for a little while, till she can survive on her own." Jessica said.

"We are?" Scott asked looking at Josh. "Riley's going to figure it out Josh, you can't hide a puppy all that easily."

"Josh is going to talk to Riley," Jessica said, "it'll be alright."

"Really?" Scott said. It seemed that Jim and Josh were getting stupider by the day. 

Josh looked at the ground and shifted from foot to foot. Oh yeah, Scott thought, this was going to go well. Josh was just the picture of certainty.

"But we need some baby bottles, a doggy bed, and some formula ... " Jessica continued.

"No problem," Scott said. "I'll run into town right now and get all that stuff."

"You will?" Josh asked, surprised that Scott would want to associate himself with any of this.

"Sure. I've got some stuff to pick-up anyway," he said, giving Jessica a wink. 

Jessica's blushed and looked at her feet. Ever since Scott had rubbed the cream between her legs the tingling lingered. She was actually enjoying masturbating ... well not the masturbating but the pleasure that rocked her when she masturbated. Scott had been so impressed with the advancements being made that he'd promised to pick up some 'props' for the following week. She had no idea what he meant by 'props' but she actually looked forward to finding out. She had co-operated with Scott the night before, in ways she thought surely had to be abnormal. She couldn't imagine what more could there be to do. 

Josh had obviously missed something, and judging by the shade of Jessica's cheeks it was something big, but he was too distracted to worry about it. 

He had to think of a plan of attack for Riley. Scott wasted no time leaving, so Jessica and Josh continued to the house. 

Jessica sat on the sofa cuddling and whispering to the dog while Josh slouched next to her, mentally sorting through his options.

Scott had gone to town, come back, Jessica had insisted on boiling the bottles and nipples, and then fed the dog twice since. Angus had finally lumbered into the house, and sat in the rocking chair scowling by turn at Josh and the dog. He hadn't said a word, which served to heighten Josh's wariness. 

By five o'clock, when Riley and Jim had pulled into the driveway, Josh had it figured out. He rushed out the front door to intercede Riley before he made it to the house.

"Hey," Jim greeted, surprised to see Josh. 

He looked to the house with concern. Josh didn't look panicked, but there was something in the way he walked, the look on his face that caused Jim to pause. 

"Everything okay?" he asked, eyeing the house again. 

Riley had rounded the car and now stood next to Jim. He caught Jim's tone and began moving past him to the house.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Nothing, nothing" Josh said, willing Riley to stop. "I just wanted a word, with you, Riley, " Riley slowed, looking at him quizzically. "Alone," he added, giving Jim a glance.

"Right," Jim said heading for the house as quickly as he could without actually running. Something wasn't right.

Riley stood watching Josh. Josh looked antsy. Really antsy. Riley waited, wondering how entertaining this was going to be. Josh cleared his throat.

"There's uh, been a development," Josh began. Riley still said nothing. "I think you'll like it. It's a good opportunity to get Jessica to warm up to you."

"Really," Riley stated, beginning to think that this may not be so amusing after all. 

He had wondered whether informing the others about what he and Angus were doing with Jessica had been a good idea. They were already pretty easy on her, and the last thing he needed was for them to misinterpret the plan as a license to cater to her every whim. 

Well, it seems he should have kept his mouth shut, now they could slant everything as an argument for Riley and Angus to not scare Jessica. Damn it! 

"Yes. The pups were born this morning," Josh paused.

"All right." 

"And so I took Jess out to see them."

"Less all right."

"Everything was fine except there was this runt, which of course Jessica took to right away. I thought ... I assumed that everyone knew what to do with runts ..." Josh's voice trailed off.

"Let me guess, Jessica didn't."

"No," Josh said shaking his head. "She was very upset. She wanted to help it, just until it was old enough to care for itself ..."

"Josh, don't say what I think you're going to ..."

"You didn't see her Riley. It would have been a giant step backwards ..."

"Where was Angus during all of this?" Riley demanded.

"He was there for a few minutes, said I had to deal with it." That took Riley by surprise. That didn't sound like Angus. 

"So, how did you? Deal with it, I mean?" Riley asked, not so sure that he'd like what the answer would be.

"We got some bottles and formula for it, Jessica's been feeding it. She named it Baby."

'Baby?', Christ, what the hell was happening here? 

"So, you made promises to Jessica which you now expect me to uphold, is that it?"

"Pretty much."

Riley moved toward Josh. 

"And," he said sticking his face in Josh's, "if I say no, I'm going to be the bad guy, right?"

"Yes." Josh steadied himself, ready for the punch he was sure he would receive, but none came.

"I don't even want to know that damn dog is there, understand?" Riley said through clenched teeth. "Whenever Jessica has her night with me or Angus, or Jim and Scott for that matter, though I'm sure their little hearts are leaking blood all over the place already, you will care for the dog. And once that dog is remotely close to fending for itself, you will be the one to tell her, you will be the one to physically remove the dog, and this is all going to happen before I have to remind you ... is that understood?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad we understand one another. Help me unload the car."

Jessica had been working to steady her nerves. The fact that Riley hadn't yet barged into the house and punished her ... or worse yet, tossed the puppy out, meant that whatever Josh had told him had to have worked. 

Still, Jimmy had been less than reassuring when he'd come in and saw the puppy. 

"Riley's going to be pissed," was all he had to say.

Angus had spent the entire afternoon sitting in the rocking chair staring at her and the pup. He hadn't said anything, not a word. The tension had escalated to the point where Jessica wasn't sure she could handle it anymore. She didn't know how she'd handle Angus when he finally went on a rampage, but she knew what she had to do to try and prevent Riley from refusing to let her care for Baby. But she was so nervous, she wasn't sure she could pull it off. 

On any normal day she had a hard time looking at Riley, much less going to him, kissing him, talking to him. Add the fact that he'd probably be furious, there was a good chance that despite all the mental work-up she'd given herself, she would probably freeze. And that would more than likely make Riley even madder. No, she had to do it, and she had to make it look natural. There was a life other than her own at stake now ...

The front door opened, Josh entered carrying several bags, and then Riley followed. His arms were full also, which gave Jessica a respite, until he put the bags down. 

He marched to the kitchen and although he didn't looked pleased, Jessica was glad to see that he didn't have his usual expression of fury. 

Jessica shifted from foot to foot in the living room as Riley, back to her, put the bags in the kitchen. When he stood and turned in her direction, Jessica moved toward him, able to keep her eyes in the general vicinity of his face. She stood on her toes, kissed his cheek, and then stood staring at her feet. 

She had meant to ask how the trip to town had gone, but she couldn't find her voice. 

There was a silence as Riley stared at Jessica's bent head. A quiet whimpering came from across the room. Jessica fought the urge to look in the direction of the puppy. It'd been two hours since the last feeding, and is if on cue, the pup was looking for more. 

She willed the dog to be quiet, but instead it got louder.

"So," Riley finally said, "I hear we have a visitor ..."

Jessica nodded. Riley's voice was calmer than she expected, so she looked up at him. "Her name is Baby."

"Josh has assured me that this will be very short term ... just let's get one thing straight, look at me Jessica ..." Riley said when her gaze dropped. He stepped forward and tilted her chin up, "I don't want to know that dog is here. Get it fending for itself, and then get it out. Understand?" 

"Yes," Jessica replied, and then, relieved Riley was going to let her care for the dog, she said without thinking, "Thank you." 

That was it! Angus had been stewing all day since he'd let Josh make the decision about the dog, and he could take it no longer. He felt as though his head would explode as he propelled himself off the rocking chair and grabbed Jessica's arm.

"You can play the others all you want Jessica, but I'm not falling for it!" he thundered. 

Angus held up his free hand when Riley had begun to speak, silencing him. 

"Something about this afternoon bothered me, aside from the obvious," he tilted his head in the direction of the whimpering pup, "and I couldn't figure it out until now. Jessica is turning into a master manipulator. She spoke to Josh and Scott as if they answered to her. Someone is forgetting their place here, and I intend to remind her of it!" and he pushed Jessica toward the hallway. 

Jim stepped forward ready to protest but Angus swung a look at him that made him freeze. 

"Nothing is going to stop this Jim. But if you so much as open your mouth, I'll personally ring that dog's neck before I deal with Jessica!" 

Jim shut his mouth as Angus turned and dragged Jessica to his room. He winced as the sound of Angus' fist meeting Jessica's flesh rang out. Jessica made little noise until the fourth or fifth hit. She'd always made it a point to resist showing any emotion as long as she could. This always had the effect of making Angus angrier. That never seemed to stop Jessica from doing it though. 

Riley turned to Scott and Josh.

"Is it true? Did Jessica over step her boundaries?" 

Both nodded. Neither had really seen it that way at the time, but on reflection they realized that she had been very bossy, almost authoritarian. 

"Letting her keep that thing isn't a good idea," Riley said looking at the wriggling pup that Jim had picked-up. 

"Maybe she deserves the beating Angus is giving her," Josh said, wincing as the sounds continued to emit from Angus' room. "But I really believe that if we kill that pup, everything will be lost. We can start from square one, all over again."

Riley looked to Scott who nodded slightly. 

Well, there was an opportunity here to get even more out of Jessica than they could otherwise. Riley had the feeling that she would do just about anything to keep that puppy alive and well.

"Shut it up then," Riley said, "it's enough just listening to Jessica."

Jim got the formula as quickly as he could, and then went outside to feed the dog. He couldn't take listening to Jessica's cries any longer.

**************************************************

"Jess ... " Jim whispered, reaching out to Jessica who lay with her back to him. 

She shrugged his hand off, and he could not think of what to say or do next. Angus had taken his time with her, spent hours. By the time he had let her out of his room, dinner had come and gone. 

She had suffered through an hour or two of sitting in the living room and being lectured by Riley about her place. Finally, it was late enough for Jim to justifiably take Jessica to bed. She had climbed on the bed, and had not moved since. 

Normally they would play cards, chess, talk, or more often then not, they hooked up the TV and spent hours watching. 

It was normally the happiest time of the day for Jim, and Jessica as well. 

Now there was nothing but silence, and guilt. 

Maybe he should have sacrificed the dog to try and stop Angus. But in reality all it would have gotten him was a dead dog, and probably an even worse beating for Jessica. 

He allowed half an hour of silence to continue before he could take it no longer.

"Jessica, you know that you're not allowed to challenge us. That's nothing new. Angus has gone off on way less provocation than that."

No response. 

"And when we speak to you, you're expected to reply." 

Still, no response. 

It was at times like these that his paranoia began to surface. He knew the men thought he was a push-over, did she too? What if she was just using him, like Riley and Angus liked to suggest she was. 

"Jessica!" he said in a tone he had come to call 'The Rangley', a perfect combination of Riley and Angus. 

Usually, that was all it took for Jessica to snap out of whatever funk she was in, this time it did not work. She did not move. Now what? Was she testing him? It had been a long time, a very long time, since he had had to discipline her. He would have thought that after all she had gone through with Angus, she would not be looking for more, but it seemed he was wrong. 

He could do like Riley had done earlier and imply that the pup's life depended on her replying to him, behaving. But between the two choices, strong arming, or blackmailing, he was pretty sure that she would hate him more for the blackmailing. 

Jim shook his head. The truth was, he wanted it both ways. He wanted Jessica to like him, but to respect him the way she respected the others. Part of him needed to be sure that she did not think of him as a patsy. 

All she had to do to satisfy him was respond when he spoke to her ... he took her arm and rolled her toward him. She pushed his hand away and rolled back.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, and rolled her back toward him. 

Anger flickered across Jessica's face and she curled up her fist and struck him in the stomach. 

"What the .." and before he could react Jessica had scrambled to her knees and launched herself at him. They struggled as Jessica landed several successful blows to Jimmy's face. Finally he managed to pin her on her back, arms above her head. He had to slide down over her thighs in order to keep her knees from bashing him in the back. 

"Stop it Jessica, stop!" he yelled as she continued to struggle. Now out of control, strange grunting noises escaped her. She was beginning to do more damage to herself than to him, and he began to wonder if she were having some sort of seizure. 

Taking a chance on Jessica punching him again, he released her right hand and landed a slap across her face. It was harder than he had intended, and with it, all movement on Jessica's part ceased. She lay with her face to the side. 

"Jess," he said turning her face so he could see it. She stared back at him, expressionless. "Promise me that you won't do that again! Don't make me have to restrain you! I thought we were done with the handcuffs."

Jessica blinked at the mention of the handcuffs.

"Look, I'm sorry Angus hurt you. If you want I can get some ice for the bruises welts ... "

"Don't do that," she said in a low tone.

"We need to bring down the swelling ..."

"No ... don't pretend to be my friend," she said. 

"I'm not pretending anything, " Jim said taken aback.

"Yes you are. Just don't be nice to me anymore." Jessica's voice was so devoid of emotion Jim wondered if she were in some sort of catatonic state.

"Snap out of it Jess," he said tapping her cheek, "or I'll have to slap you again."

"Go ahead," she said, "I probably deserve it anyway, I did breathe after all."

Jim stared down at her. "I have always supported the rules Jessica, you know it." He felt guilt nagging at him.

"And I'm supposed to be able to guess which ones?" she asked. "Besides, I didn't know there was a rule against saving an innocent puppy's life. You and Angus are right about one thing though ... I did misunderstand my place." Jessica turned her face away.

Jim grasped her chin and turned her face back to him, angered by her insinuation that somehow he had misled her. 

"You listen to me ..." he began, but when he saw tears pooling in her eyes his throat constricted. His anger faded.

"Jess, " Jim said, his voice catching, "Angus made it very clear that he'd kill the pup if I tried to interfere. I had the impression that was something you wanted to avoid."





Lisa Ch. 04: Reminded Of Her Place



Jessica struggled to control her tears. "He did?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry ... I thought that you ...sorry," she said quietly. 

Jim slid off of Jessica's legs and lay beside her. He pulled her to him, and she buried her face in his chest, crying quietly. 

"Jess, you know that there are some things that I can't interfere with, right?" Jim asked into her hair. 

He had been sticking up for her a lot more lately, but he sure hoped she did not expect it from him in all cases. 

"I tried this time, because I knew that if it had to do with the puppy's life, you were probably very emotional, not thinking of the consequences when you spoke back to Josh and Scott. But we do have rules that you are expected to follow. I can't just ignore them. Besides, the more I interfere, the worse it can be for you. Neither Riley nor Angus appreciate being challenged."

Jessica nodded against his chest. 

"Wanna watch T.V?" he asked, glad to have thought of a way distract her.

"Who's going to take care of Baby?" she asked "He's got to be fed every couple of hours."

"Josh was going to do that," Jim said, "but if you want, we can bring her in here tonight. Just don't expect Riley or Angus to on their nights. They've made it clear that it's Josh's responsibility to take care of it."

"Josh's?" Jessica asked, surprised.

"Because he took you out to see it to begin with ..."

Jessica rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Jim said, pointing his finger at her, "it's that kind of stuff that gets you in trouble. Save yourself a lot of grief and stop trying to butt heads with them."

"Butt heads?" Jessica demanded, incredulous. "They scare the crap out of me Jim, I most certainly do not butt heads with them!"

"Yeah right." Jim snickered. "For someone who's so afraid, you sure know how to push all the wrong buttons. It comes across as intentional."

"What am I supposed to do Jim? I can't seem to do anything right enough. No matter what I do, I make them angry."

Jim studied Jessica's face. 

She leant back on the bed, looking up at him expectantly. She seemed to sincerely want his help. Here was his chance to coach her on how to behave with Riley and Angus. 

But would telling her be a good thing? What if she used it to give herself the opportunity to run away? 

He shook his head and sat up. Nothing was going to change if he didn't help her out. It had been how many years? And she still had too much fight left in her. 

"It's all in your attitude Jess, you're always in fight mode, and they can sense it."

Jessica sat up beside him.

"It's called self-defense Jimmy. In case you haven't noticed, with the exception of you, most everyone else here is out to get me."

"Funny you should mention that," Jim said bringing his hand to his jaw and rubbing it, "but it seems to me that we spend an awful lot of time defending ourselves to you too." 

Jessica gave him an odd look. 

"That's not really the same thing ..." she said, and for a second he thought she was going to bring up the kidnapping. He wasn't sure that he was ready for a conversation like that.

"Jess, if you're busy defending yourself, and we're busy defending ourselves, where is there room for anything else?"

"What else is there to do?" Jessica asked, looking perplexed, "It's never ending."

"No it's not," Jim said. "Think about the things the men ask you to do. Do you think that they ask you to kiss them when you enter the room just so they can beat the crap out of you later?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if that were true," Jessica replied. "I'm serious," she added when Jim laughed at her response.

"Oh come on Jess. Do you think you would've ever gotten off the leash ... sorry," he said when a shudder convulsed Jessica's body, "you okay?"

Jessica nodded. "Can we not talk about that?"

"There are other examples Jess. You've been to see the dogs, you've been to see the horses ... things aren't always the same, there has been some change. Do you think that would be the case if they weren't looking for something from you?"

Jessica shrugged. "I know what they're looking for ... power. I think they'd like nothing more than to hook me up to a remote control and dictate my every move ..."

Jim sighed, "You're missing the point entirely."

Something in his tone caught Jessica's attention. 

Despite the beating, Jessica still felt a tingle between her legs, and for the first time considered that Jim was someone she wanted to be with. 

He had never touched her that way, and she had always appreciated that. But now, it felt like he should be the one getting that close to her. He always stood up for her, always cared about her. In a flash she realized that she loved him. 

A change came over Jessica's face and she looked at Jim with such emotion he feared what would come out of her mouth.

"And you?" she asked, "What is it that you want from me?"

Jim shifted uneasily in his place. It seemed that Jessica had no trouble keeping eye contact with him. He felt naked under her stare. 

"I want the men to know you like I do." He said quietly. 

Something in Jessica expression unsettled him. 

The air around them seemed charged, electric. 

His eyes were locked with Jessica's and neither one seemed able to withdraw. Neither one of them seemed to want to. 

Jim didn't know what to do next, he'd never experienced this before. A prickle of anxiety began to grow inside him. It grew ten fold when he realized where all of this was leading. 

Ultimately it was exactly what he wanted, the physical intimacy to match the emotional intimacy they were cultivating, but was Jessica ready? Was he? 

"That's what the men want too," he forced himself to say, "they just don't know how to get it. You're going to have to give it to them Jessica."

Jessica stared at him in silence. It seemed like an eternity passed before she spoke again. "I don't know how."

"You have to want it Jess. You have to want to be the person they are looking for."

Jessica laughed and looked away from him. "I'm not that person."

"Not completely, not yet. But you can be." Jim said not sure whether to be upset or relieved that the intensity of the moment before had passed.

"I won't be me anymore," Jessica said, choking back some tears.

Jim took her hand in his and rubbed it. 

"It'll still be you, except it'll be you with a different attitude. You have to forget about the past couple of years Jess, like they never happened. You have to love the men with all your heart, really love them. If you truly love them, you'll want to please them, and if you want to please them, it'll be obvious in everything you do and say. It's not something you can pretend Jess, it just has to be."

Jessica sniffed. "Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know how ..."

"It's easy," Jim said crawling around her on the bed, and into her line of vision, "don't take the time to think, just act. For every impulse you have, do the opposite. You want to look away from Riley or Angus when they speak to you, want nothing more than to look at them. Most women find them pretty easy on the eyes. I'm sure you can find something appealing there. When they look angry and mean, don't rest until you find some way to make them look and feel happy and gentle. It's all up to you now Jess. Where you lead, they will follow."

Jessica looked at Jim wondering if there was any way that she could actually do what he suggested. Could it be much worse than the way things were now? She fell against Jim. "I can't promise anything," she said. 

"Just do it Jess!" Jim said so suddenly, and so forcefully that Jessica fell back against the mattress. He moved toward her and she was sure that he was soon going to be on top of her, pinning her down, commanding her, the way the others did. But Jim caught himself, surprised by the intensity of the emotion he felt. Things had to get better, for all their sakes.

"I'll try," she mumbled . 

Jim wasn't the sort to get so serious, it had to be something he really wanted. 

For a moment Jessica saw something in Jim's eyes that made her think he was going to kiss her. She had never seen that look in his eye before, but then just as suddenly as his outburst, it was gone. He sat-up clearing his throat. 

"Just think about it okay?" he asked as he got off the bed. He turned to the door and stopped, hands behind his head. 

"Okay," Jessica said, and thought about how ironic it was that Jimmy was the one she wouldn't mind touching her, even without the stuff Scott had put on her, and yet he never did, not that way. 

She looked at his back. He had tilted his head to the ceiling. He looked upset. "I'll try harder, alright?" she said moving to the side of the bed.

"Alright Jess," he said, not sure he could trust himself to turn around. 

He didn't know what was wrong with him, but a few times now he'd had a sudden urge to kiss Jessica, and not the kind of kiss that he normally gave. He was so mad at himself. The one thing he swore he'd never expect from Jessica, he was beginning to want. 

"T.V?" he asked while moving to his closet.

"Great," Jessica said, feeling a pang of guilt. 

How could she just become another person like that? And she had serious doubts about how much Riley and Angus really cared about her. At least with Scott and Josh she got the sense that she meant something to them. 

Suddenly she felt really tired. She lay down on the bed and yawned. 

'I'll watch from the chair,' Jim thought to himself as he pulled the twelve inch television set form his closet, 'I can't do anything stupid from there.' 

"What do you want to watch?" he asked as he ducked behind his dresser drawer to plug the T.V. in. 

"Jess?" he asked when he got no reply. 

"Jessica!" he repeated. Turning he found Jessica in asleep. 

Jim sighed with relief. He'd avoid embarrassing himself tonight after all. 

Putting the T.V. back in the closet, Jimmy turned off the light and crawled onto the bed beside Jessica. 

Now in the dark, with Jessica asleep, the desire he'd felt earlier did not return. 

It had been that look she'd given him. The intensity. He didn't think he'd be able to resist that again. 

Jessica had never sent out signals like that before. 

'Shit!' he muttered as he realized what had changed. He'd lied for her. 

She probably felt that she owed him something ... Christ. 

Jimmy ran his fingers through his hair, and then slid his hand back down to his face. Pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes he pressed as hard as he could and groaned. 

What if they'd done it ... if he'd followed his desire. Jessica would have done it thinking that she was paying back a debt. Holy shit! Jimmy pummeled his forehead. He'd regret it forever, but if Jessica looked at him like that again, he wouldn't be able to restrain himself a second time. He should set her straight, make things easier for himself. 

But if she thought she owed him something then he had the upper hand. Maybe if she felt indebted to him, she wouldn't fight any more. He'd have to work on his restraint because this could be the ideal opportunity to get Jessica to try and change her behavior.

Jimmy closed his eyes. Sleep was creeping up on him. 

He heard whimpering off in the distance. As he awoke he realized the noise was right beside him. 

"Jessica!" he said turning toward her and embracing her. 

"Shhhh," he whispered in her ear. 

Thank God he caught her early ... before the crying and screaming began. 

When he was lucky enough to wake up at the whimpering stage, he could often head off Jessica's nightmares. There was nothing he wanted more, than to head off Jessica's nightmares. Every time she had one, Jim's guilt would magnify to the point that he could easily match her tears and anguish with his own. 

Tonight he was lucky, Jessica sighed and returned to her usual rhythmic breathing. Jim didn't loosen his embrace. Despite being spared the nightmare, he felt guilty. 

Somehow he had to find a way to make things better for Jessica. Perhaps if she were happier, her dreams would fade. 

He'd finally managed to get through to Riley and Angus about the way they treated Jessica, and tonight he'd spelled out for Jessica what she would need to do to Riley and Angus be nicer. Maybe, maybe, this was the beginning of a better time for them all. 

Jessica opened her eyes. It was dark and she could hear Jimmy breathing beside her. 

She lay staring into the darkness. Normally she awoke from a dream about her family, but this time it was different. All she could think about were Jimmy's words ...do the opposite of her impulses. Of course! It was so obvious, she didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before. 

Her impulses always got in the way. But was it true? Would the men actually follow her lead? If she was going to do this, she would have to become a different person. She couldn't be herself any more, she couldn't keep her family's memory alive anymore. 

The guilt of that was enough to keep her from entertaining the idea. 

But Jimmy had said that the men wanted something from her, wanted her to love them. It was the only explanation she could accept for their behavior lately. 

Even Angus, who had been so cruel to her that day, had tamed down his behavior overall. She made a decision. She would do it. She would become someone else if only for the chance to get away from this place, and eventually get revenge for her family.  

But, what if that never happened? What if she became someone else and never got the chance to get away? 

She closed her eyes and exhaled. She'd been happier in the past week, discounting today, than she had been since she'd got this Godforsaken place. She was tired of suffering for nothing. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered into the dark. 

The technique she'd been using to calm down around the men caused her to temporarily clear her mind, to remember nothing. 

That would have to be her constant state now. She turned her face into her pillow and sobbed. She'd allow herself one last good cry for her family. 

Tomorrow, she'd be a new person.

To be continued ...



Lisa Ch. 05a: Only Human



Timing out on submission due to length, split chapter 5 into 5a and 5b

Continued ...

The next night

Jessica stood naked before Angus, trembling. The bruises on her body made him pause momentarily, but then he remembered the lesson he'd been trying to teach her about her place, her role, her lack of status. 

Her behavior at the kennel had been unacceptable and he went out of his way to make that clear to her. His only regret at the time was that he'd had to stop and let Jim have his night with her. But now it was his night and he would use it to continue where he'd left off.

As she hesitantly dropped her folded arms from her breasts, Angus smiled. Just as Jessica had learned his shower ritual, he knew she'd eventually learn her proper place. And the longer it took her to do so the longer he could get off on it. 

As he'd pounded his fist down on Jessica the previous day, he'd again been overcome by incredibly strong urges. Not much roused him after he and Beth parted ways, but as soon as he administered punishment to Jessica, something came alive in him. 

He'd fucked Jessica several times while he'd beaten her too unable to resist the need even though it was against the rules. The men were to restrict sexual activity with Jessica to their assigned days with her. 

The previous night was her night with Jimmy, Angus wasn't supposed to touch her sexually until the next day when she was his, but he hadn't been able to help himself. 

Memories from the day before, revived that need. After Beth, Angus had vowed that he would never again let a woman use her wiles against him, he would take what he wanted, and that would be it. 

Jessica had made the mistake of challenging him early on, on this point and from that time forward, she found herself standing naked before him in the bathroom on every night he had with her. 

He stepped forward and pinched one of her nipples between his fingers. 

It had all begun when she had tried to stage a bathing strike. 

Perhaps she thought that if she stank, they would stay away from her. 

The other men seemed unable to budge her from her stand, but Angus knew exactly what to do. To her credit, it took a good two weeks of fighting and some pretty savage beatings, but he got her to end her strike, and he got a little treat out of it for himself. 

Now, on his nights with her, he looked forward to going to the bathroom for a shower where Jessica would, with some coercion, undress and present herself to him. 

He would proceed from there as he wished. They would eventually end-up in the shower. He also maintained a strict rule in which she was to wear no clothing while in his room, so once they made it to his room, he'd remind her to drop the towel, and again, present herself to him. 

He pinched her other nipple and heard her intake a breath as he non-too gently pulled on it. Moving behind her he slid his hand between her buttocks, then between her legs. 

His fingers worked their way through the hair on her pussy and he rammed his fingers into her hole. A whimper escaped her, which was all Angus needed to put him over the edge. 

He pushed Jessica onto all fours and thrust into her from behind. As the pleasure mounted his thrusts increased in momentum and depth. Finally he exploded with pleasure. 

As Jessica slid onto her stomach, her forehead to the floor, Angus instinctively reached for her.

'Fuck!' Angus muttered to himself, catching himself before he touched her. Beth had trained him good. Even after all these years Angus would habitually try to cuddle after sex. 

It made him angry to know that he was so weak, so willing to open himself up for use and abuse. Consciously he knew that any type of intimacy following sex would lead him to doom. Experience had taught him well, yet somehow he couldn't take that knowledge to the subconscious level. He pulled back his hand and got to his feet.

"In the shower," he said, and prepared to have to repeat himself with increasing agitation, but Jessica began to get to her knees. She pushed all instinct to fight, refuse, take a stand, from her mind and forced herself to want to be in the shower. 

She made herself want to obey Angus. He pulled her to her feet, and without further prompting Jessica went and got in the shower stall. Angus was rooted to the spot. Jessica stood in the stall, staring at the wall. Normally he'd be pushing, dragging, carrying her to the shower. 

Paranoia set in. A few strides and he was at the shower. He spun Jessica around and grabbing a handful of her hair he wretched her head back. 

"What are you up to?" he demanded his breath hot on her face. He shook her when she didn't respond.

"I ..." she began, worried about how red his face had become. She was confused, she thought that her compliance was supposed to make him happy not tomato-faced angry.

"You're not getting away with nothing!" Angus thundered, spittle flying from his mouth, sprinkling her face. "Last night wasn't enough for you? Christ Jessica, you're going to wear out my fucking fists!"

"No ... no Angus," Jessica said urgently, "I thought you wanted me in the shower! I can go out again, if you want!"

Angus stared at her. His eyes slid down to where Jessica had inadvertently laid her hands on his chest as she spoke. Her nails weren't digging into him. Her usual battle stare, was oddly absent. Prepared for any attack from her, Angus let go of his grip on her hair. 

"This is fine," he said and looked back at her hands that still rested on his chest. Jessica seemed oblivious to the fact that she was leaning on him. As the threat of immediate abuse subsided, Jessica let her hands fall to her side. Angus ran the water and they showered quickly. 

Normally he would have lingered over lathering her up, taking pleasure in claiming her most private parts, as his, but he suspected that something was up and he wanted to deal with it in his room, not the bathroom. 

Fifteen minutes later Angus shepherded Jessica into his room. Locking the door, he turned around prepared to bully Jessica into dropping her towel, but instead found her facing him, towel around her feet, and hands clasped behind her back. 

She shook with fear and it took all of her will power to not curl up onto a ball and hide her private, vulnerable parts from Angus. She wanted to so badly but she pushed that possibility out of her mind. 

Taken off guard by Jessica's second act of un-coerced obedience Angus stared at her for a moment. 'Okay,' he thought to himself, though still highly skeptical, he allowed himself for the first time to consider the possibility that the beating he'd administered the night before may have actually had some affect.

"Get on the bed," he said, and with only a minor hesitation, Jessica did. 

He crawled on the bed after her, moving his pelvis between her legs as he crawled over top of her. 

Angus had perfected the art of pushing his way between her legs, his thigh first and then his pelvis, often needing to wedge his way between her firmly clasped thighs, sometimes resorting to grabbing her breast in his hand and squeezing until she let him in. 

This time he made his way through with minor resistance. When he got there he worried again about an attack. Well, he decided, if she was going to do it, they may as well get it over with. 

"Hands above your head," he said. A more noticeable hesitation this time, but Jessica raised her hands. With his left hand he pinned down her wrists, and took her breast in his right hand. 

"You bite me Jessica and so help me God I'll rip your tit right off, got it?" Jessica nodded.

Angus saw her lower lip quiver. Lunging, he took it between his teeth and nipped. Jessica jerked beneath him. An ache grew in his loin. 

Releasing her lip he slipped his tongue between her lips and forced it in her mouth. He plunged it deeper into her mouth, into her throat, Jessica as rigid as a board beneath him. 

He began to tighten his hold on her breast as Jessica moved her teeth around his tongue, but then he realized she was gagging and withdrew. No sooner had Jessica's gag reflex quieted then Angus was staking claim to her mouth again. 

Angus felt every cranny of Jessica's mouth, and was beginning to really enjoy it, when he began to sense that something wasn't quite right. Something felt different. He withdrew again, and looked down at Jessica. She had her eyes closed. 

What the hell? Never, ever in the time he'd spent with Jessica did he ever see anything other than her glaring at him or the ceiling, anger and defiance obvious in her expression and eyes. 

Even more surprising was the way she felt beneath his body. She was no longer rigid. She had relaxed, her body conforming to his. He knew what would end that fast enough. Hardly gently, Angus thrust himself into her, ensuring that each and every thrust was increasingly violent. 

Unable to restrain himself, Angus climaxed and fell on top of Jessica. He lay panting, and suddenly a shiver ran down his spine. Jessica had remained relaxed the whole time. He got to his knees and looked at her. 

Her eyes remained closed, and she looked almost serene. Minutes passed before Jessica opened her eyes. She lay staring at the ceiling, not moving. 

Not her customary roll to the side, back to him, knees to her chest. The second he was off of her, that was what she'd normally do. And then they'd have a battle of wills as he'd roll her back and try to teach her that she was not to do anything, anything, without his say so. 

The longer she lay quietly, the more distraught he became. She was going to do something, he knew it. The longer it took her to do it, the antsier he got. Well, he knew how to speed things up a little. Get her going with whatever it was she had planned. 

"Turn over," he said, and Jessica's eyes widened. That was more like it. She knew what he intended to do, and he knew there was no way she'd let him do it easily. 

"Jessica, I said ..." but before he could finish the statement, Jessica slowly turned to her stomach.

"On your knees!" he said. 

A sob escaped her as she hesitantly got on her knees. Jessica worked hard to ignore the silent screams going off in her head. 'Not this, anything but this!' they cried. 

Of all the things Angus did to her, ever, this was by far the worst. The first time had been beyond any pain or violation Jessica had ever felt. The tearing, the force with which Angus had to grind, thrust, pull her back on himself in order to get into her tiny anus ensured the most excruciating kind of pain Jessica had ever felt. 

And unlike her vagina which seem to have stretched a little to accommodate his and the other men's giant penises, her anus just never seemed to expand permanently enough to make this violation less painful. It made her personal goal of robbing Angus of as much pleasure from her screams a near impossible pursuit to obtain. 

Her body shook violently as she pressed her face into the pillow and presented her ass to him. At least she had the pillow this time, she could bury her face into it and muffle the screams she couldn't keep from escaping.

Angus took her by the hips and pulled her to him. As he began to insert his cock into her rectum he prepared for her hand to lash out at him as it always did. He'd actually got to the point when he would handcuff her for this particular position for fear of losing a testicle. 

Not this time though, this time he was ready for a fight, needed a fight. But no fight came. Jessica cried into the pillow as he forced his way in and climaxed. When it was over, she lay crying on the pillow, and Angus sat on the bed mystified. 

Maybe he should just beat the crap out of her anyway, make her incapable of inflicting much harm. But Angus had had enough of her crying. 

The previous night was one thing, and even now, knowing that she was up to no good, he could've listened to her cry all night if they'd had an actual battle of some sort, but this ... this was too much. She was bawling her eyes out, and he hadn't even hit her.

"Jessica, what the hell are you crying about? "

She continued to cry as if he hadn't even spoken. 

"Fucking shit!" he said when he could take the suspense no more. "Turn over Jessica."

She didn't move, probably didn't even hear him through her blabbering.

"Turn over now!" he ordered as he took her arm and rolled her onto her back. Jessica's face was tear stricken and red from crying. He knew that face, but again it was always after a good beating.

"Stop crying," he said, "just stop it will you!" He pulled her up by her arm, meaning to shake her a little, but he over pulled and Jessica fell against him. She ran her hands over her eyes, trying hard to quit crying. As she sniffled, Angus became aware of how warm she felt against him. Warm, and soft. Oh no, he wasn't going down that road! He pushed her from him. 

"Okay look, just do whatever you have planned, alright? Just do it, let's get it over with."

Jessica looked at him from the corner of her eye as if he were crazy.

"That's right, you heard me. Just whatever it is, get on with it."

Jessica looked at him again, as if she didn't believe him.

"There'll be consequences, you can be sure of that," Angus added, "but nothing you're not used to ... I'm not kidding Jessica, do it!"

Jessica half shrugged, lay down, turned on her side, and closed her eyes. 

Angus lay down beside her, careful not to make contact. It seemed that her plan was to wait till he fell to sleep. That was fine. There was nothing in this room that she could use to do any real damage, and no way for her to get out ... so he'd play along. 

He turned off the light and lay beside her. It wasn't too long before she was asleep. Her rhythmic breathing lulling Angus into sleep also but every time he tried to close his eyes, they sprang open. He tossed and turned a few times, thinking he'd wake Jessica up, and she could get on with it, but she never moved. 

Finally he decided to goad her into it. If he couldn't sleep, then why should she. He rolled her onto her back and climbed on top. He felt victorious when Jessica tensed as he entered her. 

Jessica was so tired, she needed sleep, and she knew from experience that Angus would continue all night if she reacted so she tried to relax. After his second or third thrust, she was successful, and he had barely finished when she fell asleep again. 

Angus startled himself awake. He could see a glimmer of light seeping in under the edges of the blind on the window. 

He'd spent the night laying on top of Jessica, waking intermittently to have his way with her. She hadn't once through the whole night complained or fought. She'd just taken it, and gone back to sleep. 

She felt so good beneath him, soft, warm, that he found himself wishing that he could just lay on top of her forever ... 'shit!' he swore to himself. Anger rushed through him. He had let his guard down and now he was getting weak, turning into a wimp. 'Well, no better time to start the day', he thought as he entered Jessica's anus. 

"Good morning Sunshine," he said as Jessica eyes flew open and her arms instinctively came up to defend herself. Angus caught them and pinned them above her head as he thrust in. 

Jessica grimaced and shifted below him, but the tension went out of her arms and she made no attempt to struggle. Angus grinned down at her as her displeasure became apparent, but soon the grin diminished. 

Before his very eyes Jessica took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes. Her body relaxed beneath him, and as it did, his thrusts lost their force and he became still, having not reached the climax he'd been expecting. He didn't move, just watched her face, and she didn't move for so long that he began to wonder if she'd fallen to sleep again. 

Finally she opened her eyes and looked at him. They looked at each other. She was looking, not staring, or glaring defiantly. It only lasted a moment before her eyes slipped from his and stared at his chin. He was tired, and at a loss for what to do. He couldn't explain her behavior in any way that seemed truly plausible. Finally he determined that he needed some space from her. Some time to think.

"Get up," he said while rolling off of her. Jessica complied. She stood on the floor next to the bed, naked, and shifting from foot to foot. "You need to go to the bathroom?" he asked. 

Jessica nodded. "And ..." she nearly whispered, "can I take a shower?"

He picked the towel off the floor and handed it to her. Silently he moved aside to let her pass.  She shuffled past him, and she seemed to be in pain. 

Little wonder, he must have violated her two or three times an hour over the course of the night. With his cock being as big as it was and her pussy and especially her ass being as small and tight as they were, he knew he'd done some damage. 

Small consolation considering he hadn't succeeded in egging her on to fighting back, and he still didn't know what she was scheming to do. Thank God his night with her was over. He intended to go back to bed once he delivered her to the living room, at least she wouldn't be his problem for the next few nights. 

The men were up when Angus and Jessica entered the dining room. They were all at the table eating when Angus guided Jessica to the table. He was prepared to lecture her on her duty to kiss all the men good morning, but Jessica moved closer to Riley who sat near her.

"Good morning," she said and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Morning," Riley said as Jessica shuffled over to Josh.

"Are you alright?" Josh asked as she awkwardly leaned in to kiss him.

"Yes," she replied and brushed her lips over his, "good morning." But she was anything but alright. She felt torn inside.

"You don't look alright," Scott said as she shuffled over to him. 

"Good morning, " she said and kissed him. She felt light headed. Blinking she moved to Jim. 

"Jess, you need to sit down," Jim said taking her by the arms as she leaned in to kiss him. 

He helped her back to an empty chair near where Angus stood.

"Take this," Angus said as she tried to find a comfortable way to sit on the chair. 

Everything ached. Every muscle in her body, her private area, her bum. 

"Open your mouth," he said as she shifted on her chair.  She did, and he popped a birth control pill into her mouth. He brought a glass of water to her lips.

"How about some breakfast?" Jim asked eager to distract himself from the fact that Angus had inflicted so much pain on Jessica and then just carried on so nonchalantly.

"I'm going back to bed," Angus said unable to believe how exhausted he felt. "Riley," he said and tilted his head toward the hallway.

Riley followed Angus down the hall.

"Keep an eye on her," Angus said following a yawn. "She's up to something."

"I doubt she'll be up to much today, or tonight. She can barely move."

"She'll move if you make her move," Angus replied. "Just watch her ...she's up to something, that's for sure."

"What makes you think that?"

"She's been ... different. You'll know what I mean soon enough. I've been up all fucking night keeping an eye on her."

"All right," Riley said, and moved back to the dining room. He returned just as Jim set a plate of food before Jessica.

"Thank you," she said and then perking up she looked at Josh. "Where's Baby?" she asked.

"Asleep in the corner there, "Josh replied, "eat your breakfast and you can go over and see her."

"I'm going to put disinfectant cream on your back first," Jim said after moving around behind her, and pulling the neckline of her shirt back, peering inside. How Angus had managed to leave gashes with his fists Jim didn't even want to try and understand. They looked just as raw and painful as they had the two nights before and Jim was reminded again just how cruel Angus could be.




Lisa Ch. 05a: Only Human



"I'll do it," Riley said, anxious to get some inkling as to what kind of behavior had Angus so worked up. "Eat up."

"Okay, " Jessica said, and began eating. 

'Okay?"' Riley thought to himself. She'd said it loud and clear. It looked like she was planning on upholding her end of the bargain ... for eating too, she was eating a slow but steady stream of food. But after a few minutes she lay her fork down. 

She forced her eyes to Riley's and fought to keep them from slipping "I can't eat any more," she said. She had looked directly at him, and mistook the stunned look on his face as displeasure. She lowered her head. "I'm full." she added hastily. 

Now Riley knew why Angus had been awake all night. Something was different. The only thing he could think to do in response was to go along with it and see where it led.

"Pass me the first aid kit Josh," Riley said standing. "On the sofa Jessica." Jessica made her way to the sofa, and it was clear that every step was an effort. 

Jessica hesitated when she got there, unsure how to lie down without causing herself pain.  

"Get your shirt up first," Riley said from behind her, and he began to pull her shirt up over her shoulder blades. Jessica gasped as pain shot through her.

"I'll help you lie down," Scott said taking her arms to steady her.

"I got her legs." Riley said. One hand holding up her shirt, he wrapped his other around her legs and lifted. Jessica grimaced, until she was on her stomach, and then she lay very still, afraid to move.

"What the hell did he do to her?" Scott hissed at Riley. 

Jim and Josh had watched the ordeal from behind the sofa, and now leant in close to Riley and Scott.

"This was uncalled for," Josh growled. 

"I thought he was supposed to be going easier on her!" Jim added. 

"We'll talk about this later," Riley said, hoping Jessica hadn't heard the conversation. If she had, she gave no indication of it. 

Riley spread the cream on her back. A few welts had the red edges that indicated infection. Riley made a mental note to monitor them closely. Jessica grimaced while he worked and once he was done, Jessica sighed and fell to sleep.  

"Riley ..." Jim began in a tone and expression that made it evident he planned to complain about Angus again.

"Not here!" Riley interrupted. Was he nuts? He knew better than to discuss this stuff around Jessica, awake or asleep. 

"Get her a blanket," he said to Jim. 

"You take care of that damn dog!" he said to Josh as the puppy began to whine, "We'll have plenty of time to talk about this tonight."

"But ..." Jim began to protest. 

Riley held up his hand. "Nothing is going to change for her whether we talk about it now or later. Later, Angus will be up and we can find out from him what the problem was. Just get her a blanket so she can sleep, and for Christ sake Josh, I swear to God that if that dog isn't out of my sight in the next two seconds, it'll be making me a really good silencer as I shoot your ass!"

Scooping the pup up, Josh went outside. Jim stomped to his room, muttering obscenities under his breath as he went. He returned with a blanket and laid it gently over Jessica.

"One of us has to stay with her ..." Riley began looking between Jim and Scott.

"I will," Jim said quickly. "Go do whatever you need to, I'll watch her."

Before leaving Scott kissed Jessica on the top of her head. 'Shit!' he muttered to himself and then brought his lips to her forehead and confirmed what he was afraid of. 

"She's burning up," he said.

"What?" Riley asked and laid his hand on Jessica's forehead. She felt hot. He had attributed the heat coming from her back to the difference between the temperature of the cream and her skin.

"Fuck," he said and reached for the first aid kit that he'd placed on the coffee table. He found the thermometer and slid it under Jessica's arm. Moments later it was clear that she was in the midst of a full-blown fever. Riley pulled the blanket off her. Reaching beneath her he undid the button of her jeans, unzipped them and pulled them off. 

"Get me a wet cloth and some cool water," he said to Scott but then thought better of it, "Never mind Scott, the cloth won't be fast enough. Go run some cool water in the bath instead." He rolled Jessica onto her back and then scooped her up in his arms. Jim trailing after him, he headed for the bathroom and then lowered Jessica into the tub that was filling with water.

"No!" Jessica yelled, waking.

"Shhh, Jess," Jim said grabbing her shoulder to keep her from getting up.

"It's cold!" she complained.

"You have a fever Jessica, we have to bring it down. Sit still," Riley said, and began scooping water over her head with his hand. Jessica began to shiver.

"Please ... "she said through chattering teeth, "it's freezing!"

"It's not that cold," Scott said, dipping his finger in the lukewarm water.

"It's the fever ... it's way too high. Jim, go out to the barn and get a couple of Advil. You know where I've been keeping the bottle right? Up in the loft where Jessica could never find it. Scott, go to my room and get the comforter. " Riley ordered. 

As Jim and Scott left, Riley unplugged the tub. Grabbing a towel, he pulled Jessica to her feet. Her shirt and panties clung to her. He pulled them off and wrapped her in the towel. When Scott returned with the blanket, Riley wrapped Jessica in it also. He carried her back out to the sofa and laid her down.   

"Here Jess," Jim said placing the Advil he'd brought in her mouth and bringing the glass to her mouth. Jessica's teeth chattered on the glass. Jim sat beside her and pulled Jessica onto his lap to help warm her. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed. Jessica trembled against him. 

"I'll be back in half an hour to take her temperature again," Riley said and headed for the door.

"Jessica, did you do something to Angus last night?" Jim asked once Riley had left and Scott had settled himself on the armchair. 

"Do something?" Jessica asked through chattering teeth, her head lolling from one side to the other. "No. Was I supposed to?"

"No Jessica, you weren't supposed to, " Scott answered, "but did you?"

"I don't understand ... what was I supposed to do?" Jessica whispered, barely conscious.

"Go to sleep Jess," Jim said, and Jessica's head fell against him. He could feel her shivering.

"She must have done something bad," Scott said.

"Christ. Why can't she just play along?" Jim demanded. "Whoever she inherited that stubborn streak from must've been one hell of a pain in the ass!"

Scott laughed. "No fucking joke. I've never met anyone as stubborn except for maybe Riley and Angus."

"Yeah. That's just great." Jim replied pulling her tighter against him.  

"What's going on?" Josh asked, returning with Baby.

"Jessica's got a fever," Scott replied.

"A fever!"

"It's real high," Jim added.

"You think it's because of what Angus did to her?" Josh asked.

"Guarantee it," Jim replied. "I wish he'd get up and tell us what the hell set him off ..." Jim recalled what he'd told Jessica the previous night. Could it all be related? If it was, was he to blame for her current state? He knew he should have kept his trap shut!

"Angus sure has a funny way of being less frightening," Scott observed. "If this is his and Riley's idea of how not to be scary ... I feel sorry for us all. Nothing is ever going to change."

"What the hell is going on?" Angus asked emerging from the hallway. He stood staring at Jim cradling Jessica.

"Jessica's sick," Josh replied, "what did you do to her, and why?"

"Sick?" Angus asked after throwing Josh a dirty look. "You sure she's not pulling a fast one on you?"

"She definitely has a fever. I don't think she's figured out a way to fake that ..." Josh replied throwing back an equally dirty look.

"Don't be too sure," Angus said stalking to the sofa and placing his hand on Jessica's forehead. "Feels legit," he said with a nod.

"Of course it's legit," Jim said through clenched teeth. "We have a thermometer and we know how to use it! What did she do to deserve this ... please don't tell me you were just being an asshole for the hell of it!"

"She was up to something. Everything she did was suspicious."

"Like what?"

"Like everything," Angus answered, not liking Jim tone.

"Can you be more specific?" Scott asked.

"Read my lips ..." Angus said slowly, "Jessica did some suspicious shit last night, ... she was up to something. Why the hell are you asking all these questions? Since when has it been a crime to punish her?"

"What's going on?" Riley asked as he came in the front door. He didn't like the look on Angus' face. He looked like he was going to lose it ... and Jessica hardly seemed able to have done much to make him angry.

"It appears, "Josh said, "that Jessica did some mysteriously suspicious things to warrant getting the crap beaten out of her ... and he," Josh said pointing his finger at Angus, "seems to think that beating Jessica up has become the new national pass time."

"Kicking your ass is going to be my pass time!" Angus yelled lunging for Josh.

"Cool it!" Riley ordered, stepping between Angus and Josh, and grabbing their shirt collars, he shoved them apart. 

"You self-righteous son of a bitch!" Angus shouted as he shoved past Riley and reached for Josh.

"Angus, outside!" Riley yelled as he pulled him back.

"Fine, let's take it outside ..."

"No, you and me, outside, now!"

"You hear the way he's talking to me?" Angus demanded, pointing at Josh.

"Outside Angus.  Scott, Josh, we've got work to do, so get to it. Jim, you got Jessica for a while?"

Jim nodded. Riley shoved Angus ahead of him toward the door. Without a word Josh stomped to the basement door, taking the pup with him. He disappeared behind the door, slamming it behind him. 

"This is getting out of hand," Scott said listening to Josh stomp down the stairs.

"I'll say, Angus is doing a better job of trying to kill Jessica now, than he did when we actually intended to kill her!" Jim replied.

Scott nodded. "The worst part is that if Jessica was doing something suspicious I can understand being worried. I wouldn't employ the same tactics that Angus did, but I'd be trying to figure out what she was up to too."

"So, how are we supposed to know when we can truly trust her?" Jimmy asked as a sense of despondency washed over him. 

"When I throw open the door, let her walk through it alone, and know that she'll be coming back ... of her own free will ... I'll be able to trust her. That may never happen." Scott said, his tone reflecting that he shared Jim's disappointment.

Jim dropped his chin to rest on the top of Jessica's head.

"You alright?" Scott asked.

"Nope."

Scott nodded, "Me neither." He looked at Jessica passed out in Jim's arms. He thought about the times he and Jessica were alone in his room looking through magazines, masturbating together. Somehow he had to find a way to trust her completely. "Going to work out my frustrations downstairs." He finally said, "Later."

Jim heard the door to the basement close behind Scott. He felt like shit. He knew Scott was right ... but he couldn't for the life of him think of how to get them to a point where she would return to them of her own free will. 

That depressed him all to hell. It was true that the men were his family, the only family he had left ... and he loved them dearly, but he wanted, needed, Jessica in a way he couldn't describe even to himself. 

Jessica murmured something quietly.

"I'm here Jess, what do you need?"

"I want to go home," Jessica sobbed quietly. The words hit Jimmy like a ton of bricks. So, she had been up to something.

"You are home Jessica," Jimmy whispered.

"Dad?" 

"No, Jessica, it's Jim. You're not well right now. Go to sleep and you'll be better soon." 

"Mom, Dad, Jeffery!" Jessica called as the delirium of the fever overtook her. 

She began to thrash on Jim's lap. "Mom, Dad, Marcus! Cain! Jeffery!" she called out increasingly loudly.

"Jessica, shhh, Jessica, it's okay, calm down," Jim said restraining her and patting her cheek.

Outside on the front walkway, Angus paced before Riley.

"Josh talks to me like I'm some two-bit punk and you call me out!" he thundered.

"Forget about them for a minute, will you!" Riley replied. "What the hell did Jessica do that was suspicious?'

"He treats me like I'm the enemy when little missy in there would just as soon knock his block off as she would blink ... "

"Forget it for now Angus!" Riley said grabbing his arm as he strode by. "Tell me what you found to be suspicious."

"Everything. She just rolled over and took everything.  Didn't fight, and did everything she was supposed to, and when I ... did it ... with her, she closed her eyes and lay there."

"Closed her eyes?"

Angus nodded "And just took it. She has never, ever, just taken it before."

"So you hit her for it?" Riley asked trying not to sound as incredulous as he felt about it. 

"No ... you think I should have?" Angus asked clearly misunderstanding the Riley's tone.

"No I don't. Jessica closing her eyes isn't exactly a capital offense. You sure you didn't hit her? She had all those bruises and gashes."

"Those were from the other night. I didn't hit her but I fucked the shit out of her. Told her to hurry up and do whatever she had planned but she wouldn't. " Angus said. 

"Let me get this straight, you fucked her into a fever?" Riley demanded.

Angus shrugged, "I guess. I did fuck her a lot. Pretty much all damn night that's why I was so fucking tired this morning. But don't worry Riley, she knows her place and even though she's scheming something I made damn sure she knew who was boss."

Riley was speechless. Angus was looking for Riley's praise. He honestly thought he was doing Riley's bidding. And why wouldn't he. Riley had made sure that Angus and the other men did just that without even having the decency to do so himself. 

He felt an uncomfortable knot in his stomach. He never recalled having it before Jessica entered his life. He tried to formulate a response that let Angus know he needed to cool it with his abuse of Jessica while still praising Angus' loyalty and misguided sense of accomplishment but he was interrupted by a screech from the house. 

"I want to go home, I want to go home!" Jessica's high pitch scream emitted from the house.

"What the hell?" Riley asked. 

He and Angus ran for the door. They rushed in just as Scott and Josh came through the basement door. They found Jimmy trying to contain Jessica, who, eyes closed, head thrown back and dripping with sweat, screamed for her family.

"She's completely delirious!" Jimmy shouted as he tried to catch her arms in his and stop them from flailing. 

"Run the water in the tub again!" Riley ordered Scott. 

He scooped Jessica off of the sofa and followed on Scott's heels to the bathroom. While the water ran, Jessica fought against Riley as he held her in the tub.

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry!" Jessica cried. 

"Jessica!" Riley shouted as her nails caught him across his cheek. 

It was on the tip of his tongue to repeat the phrase he'd used so often in the past, when they had aimed at torturing rather than nurturing her 'they're dead Jessica, D E A D, dead!' but he caught himself.  

What to say instead? 

From the corner of his eye he saw Angus move in behind him, and a moment later there was silence. 

Angus stood back rubbing his hand, while Riley kept Jessica from sliding beneath the water. A red mound appeared on her cheek where Angus had struck her. He'd used enough force to cause her head to hit the other side of the tub, and make her unconscious.  

"Christ Angus!" Scott said and quickly turned the running water off and unplugged the tub. "Is she alive?"

"Yup." Riley answered after feeling for her pulse. "Get me a towel."

When Jessica lay on the sofa again, partially covered by the towel, the men stood looking at her.

"I told you she was up to something!" Angus said triumphantly.

"She's always up to something," Riley replied, "that's nothing new. But this isn't the answer Angus. Once her temperature is under control, we're having a meeting. Do me a favor till then and sit on your hands ... "

"She was out of control ..." 

"I know ... you did a great job Angus, just relax for a bit, will you?"

"You can't seriously believe she deserved any different ..."

"Angus ... I agree that she needed to be dealt with, you did great, we'll discuss this more at the meeting. " Riley said resting his hand on Angus' shoulder. "Why don't you go out and work on the corvette for a while? I'll call you in for the meeting."

"Right, okay," Angus said and moved for the door, shaking the hand he'd struck Jessica with as he went. 

*************************************************************

Several hours later Riley stood looking around at the men. He had spent the time trying to think of a way to reel Angus in without making it obvious he was targeting Angus. In the end the reality of their situation lent itself perfectly to his needs. 

"Her temperature's down. She'll be fine." He reassured them. Jessica had been moved to the sofa bed in the basement. Now Jim sat on the sofa in the living room, head in hands, Josh slouch with a dejected air beside him. Scott sat in the rocking chair, rocking a mile a minute, and Angus stalked back and forth behind the sofa. With his proclamation Jim, Josh and Scott were visibly relieved though clearly still pissed at Angus.

"I think it's time that we regroup a little." Riley began. "It's obvious that there are some of us who trust Jessica a little more, than others do. We also have different ways of dealing with her ... in the past it never really mattered. What happened to Jessica was largely inconsequential. Whether she lived or died, our cause benefited. But now, some of us care whether she lives or dies, and this is affecting us. Splitting us up. Does everyone agree?"

The men nodded.

"Fine. Then from now on, there will be no more individual administration of punishment to Jessica.  We will meet and discuss any actions to be taken, and I will have the final word. Is that understood?"

"She's planning on escaping Riley, I don't intend to let her!" Angus said in a controlled voice.

"None of us intend to let her," Riley said. "but I intend to apply suitable punishment once she's actually tried to escape. I trust I won't get any argument from the rest of you?"

The others shook their heads. 

"If she tries to escape, "Angus said, "just try to stop me from punishing her, my way!" and he turned on his heel and left the house, slamming the front door behind him.

"That went well," Riley muttered under his breath.

"He'll come around ... " Jim began.

"And you!" Riley said pointing at Jim, "There will be no more sniping at Angus about Jessica, am I understood? You have your opinion about her, he has his, and there is no proof that either of you are right, so you keep your thoughts to yourself ... that goes for you too Josh. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Jim and Josh answered. He turned to Scott, who had stopped rocking and sat listening.

"Are you onboard?"

"Yes."

"Good. Josh, you take care of that damn dog, Jim you bring Jessica up here. Handcuff her to the sofa leg ..."

"She's in no position to move ..." Jim began.

"Handcuff her to the leg of the sofa, unless you'd rather we put her back on the leash ..."

"No, no, the sofa is fine,"

"I thought so. We have work to do, let's get to it."  

Having brought Jessica's upstairs and lain her on the sofa Jim fastened the handcuff to the leg of the sofa, and then to Jessica's wrist. He looked at Jessica lying unconscious before him. A purple bruise staring at him from her cheek. He looked around. The men had all gone. He leaned in to Jessica's ear.




Lisa Ch. 05a: Only Human



"Jessica," he whispered. "If you can hear me, listen carefully! There is no Mom, no Dad, no Marcus, Cain or Jeffery ..." in his mind's eye he could see the bodies draped around the car floor. Those people had meant the world to Jessica ... by destroying them, the men had hurt Jessica in the most profound way they could. There was nothing that could be done about that now, but maybe, just maybe he could help make her life bearable.  

"There's just us Jessica. Me, Josh, Scott, Riley and Angus, we're your only family. Remember that ..." He pressed his lips to Jessica's hot forehead. "Things'll be better for all of us, if you can just remember that ..."

************************************************

That night

Riley lowered Jessica onto the bed.

She'd been in a state of semi-consciousness for the remainder of the day, and she showed no signs of coming out of it.  She could barely move, and likely couldn't attempt an escape even if she wanted to, but Riley wasn't taking any chances.  

He took her left arm and handcuffed her wrist to the bed post. 

He felt her forehead. She was still too hot. The knot in his stomach seemed to expand and twist. His feeling of guilt grew. 

He leaned back on the bed and exhaled. He could kill at the drop of the hat, and he'd had no trouble kidnapping Jessica, but despite the plans they had to use sex to punish her, he was no rapist. 

He would never have admitted it to the other men, especially since the shift to the use of sex as a weapon had been his idea, but of the two years that he'd ordered the men to have sex with Jessica, he hadn't touched her sexually. For the longest time, he simply couldn't see her as anything but the young hysterical woman they took from that car that fateful day. 

And two years later, he hadn't gotten past that. He'd had stirrings, and often thought that his next night with her would be the one, but then he'd get alone with her, and she'd get that look of terror ... and he just couldn't do it. 

He had used the other men and especially Angus to do his dirty work for him and now it was getting out of control.  Angus had to be reined in but in a way that still gave Riley access to his insights on Jessica. His were the only ones Riley could trust.  

Jim was just too young and naive to be able to see things with Jessica from an objective perspective. Of the five of them, Jim had been the closest to the women in the clan. It was easy to see that he transferred his feelings for his sister to Jessica. It made him vulnerable and Riley couldn't trust a thing he said about her. 

And Scott had almost the opposite issue. Being the lady's man he was, Scott couldn't seem to get the message that women weren't all going to swoon at his feet and let him get away with anything just because of his looks and smooth moves. His weakness for women made anything he had to say about Jessica just as meaningless as Jim's observations. 

And Josh. Well, Josh Riley still hadn't figured out with respect to his stance with Jessica. He didn't seem to have any obvious weaknesses when it came to women but when it came to Jessica Riley's instincts told him that Josh couldn't be objective either. 

And then there were his own instincts and they couldn't be trusted either. His history with women was one of mutual convenience. All the relationships he'd had in the past had been casual. 

There was never much he expected from a relationship except for a way to satisfy his sexual needs. His girlfriends were mostly fuck buddies, and all he and the women had in common was a desire to satisfy their sexual urges. He'd never had a lasting intimate relationship with a woman. 

His own relationship with the women in the clan was tenuous. It only existed because it had to. His mother, who killed any respect he may have had for her by turning on the clan, had only been in his life because she was his mother. So in essence he didn't know much about the psyche of women and therefore he had a hard time trusting anything he thought he knew about Jessica. 

That left him relying on Angus' instincts. The problem there being that Angus was tainted by the unfortunate after effects of Beth. To say he was soured on women was an understatement and so while Angus' instincts with Jessica were likely the most reliable Riley was aware that he had to take them more lightly then Angus did. 

And more than that he had to alter the interactions between Angus and Jessica because unlike what was originally planned, Angus' natural need to inflict harm on women to avenge himself with Beth was no longer useful. In fact it was counter-productive. 

Riley was fairly satisfied that the solution he had implemented; decreeing that all punishment was to be determined and sanctioned by him first, would address the problem with Angus. And things were at a point now that Riley needed things to improve with Jessica. 

His inability to train her as effectively and quickly as he had anticipated was shaking his confidence in himself. Added to that, he had his fantasies about Jessica and what he wanted from her and the longer they weren't coming true the more and more frustrated he got sexually. It didn't help that the mens' self-inflicted isolation kept Riley from "dating". He was getting to the breaking point ... sexually he was frustrated.

And that was the other source of his guilt. Riley had never, never, had to force a woman to have sex with him. But he had concluded that the failure to train Jessica as had been planned could have been heavily affected by his non-compliance with his own plan. 

The only way to get back on track was to fuck Jessica. He told himself that it was completely coincidental that his decision to do so occurred at the same time as he became ever increasing sexually frustrated. 

He fell back on the bed next to Jessica and stared at the ceiling. Regardless of what he had to do he still had standards. Though not reflecting well on his character, her physical pain would not cause him to delay what he now knew he had to do. 

But what did matter to him was that she was not incapacitated. He'd never had sex with a woman who was too drunk to know what she was doing, it just wasn't something he could do. And that self-inflicted mandate also lent itself well as a means of torture, a tool to break Jessica. 

He had ordered the men to ensure Jessica was fully conscious of what was happening to her. So, while it may have been easier to ply her with drugs and drink, he decreed that they would not. 

So in effect he'd ensured the men had to force themselves on her. He had made his closest friends into monsters. So now it was up to him to rectify the situation. To reign them, especially Angus, and at the same time try to mold Jessica into a compliant, if not willing participant while taking his turn as a would be rapist. 

He turned to face Jessica's still form. His balls were quite literally aching as he pushed up on his elbow and looked down at Jessica's battered and fevered face. It was rare to see her that relaxed and it made him want her more. Lowering his mouth to hers he kissed it tentatively. 

It was soft, it felt so good, tasted so good, he slid his tongue into it and moved his hand under her shirt and found one of her soft mounds. He teased the nipple until it hardened and then kneaded the soft flesh. 

He felt Jessica shift beneath him so he came off her lips and was surprised to see her awake. She was looking at him. Initially she looked confused and then scared but just as quickly as those two reactions occurred she seemed to calm. Despite that her eyes couldn't hold his and slid to his chin but her body remained relaxed, soft beneath him, he could feel her heart beating incredibly fast as he clutched her left tit.

Jessica had awaken confused and it took her a moment to realize that she was in one of her kidnappers beds. What took her by surprise was that it was Riley's. 

She only allowed herself a moment to think 'not him too' before she forced herself to go to her zen place. While her last night with Angus was not pain and abuse free there was one big enough change that was enough to convince Jessica to keep following Jim's advice. 

Angus hadn't beaten her. True it meant little compared to what he did do to her but it was a change. A good change. So Jessica was even more committed to doing the opposite of what her instincts told her. 

This would lead, she was sure, to justice for her family and her freedom. So her immediate instinct to push Riley away, fight, strike out at him, Jessica transformed into relaxing and trying, as much as she could, to want him to be there with her. Touching her. Kissing her. It wasn't easy.

"Do you know where you are?" he growled, panting. He couldn't seem to catch his breath and realized now that his heart was pounding just as much as Jessica's.  He waited anxiously for her response. If she was still delusional due to the fever therefore, unfit to be fucked, he was sure he his balls were going to explode.

"Say it." Riley ordered when Jessica nodded her head slightly, "Tell me where you are."

"In your bedroom." Jessica whispered. 

With her answer Riley's breath seemed to hitch and then speed up.

"Who's bedroom?" he asked, "Jessica look at me." 

Jessica forced her eyes up to his steel black eyes.

"Who are you with? Say my name." Riley demanded, needing to know that Jessica was aware of where she was and who he was.

"Riley." Jessica whispered. Hearing what he needed Riley took her mouth again pressing his body on hers, pinning her against the bed, his hand still clutching her tit. Jessica lay still and pliant through the invasion of his tongue and lips. 

Suddenly he groaned and shifted so he was on top of her, wedging his way between her legs. He ripped her undies off, wishing he hadn't bothered putting them on her in the first place, and in one fluent thrust he was in her. 

Jessica whimpered briefly and after tensing for a moment she let her legs fall apart closing her eyes and forcing herself to relax as Riley thrust into her progressively harder and faster and it wasn't long until he moaned and she felt his huge cock jerk inside her and the wetness of his cum run out of her and down her thighs. Riley collapsed on top of her and passed out. 

Jessica lay beneath him and contemplated that now Jimmy was the only one of the men not using her body for sex. She appreciated that but realized that whether it was one of the men or all of the men it didn't matter. She was now capitulating at the most personal level but she had to believe that they weren't winning. This was all a means to an end. 

She shifted below Riley finding it hard to breath. He was so heavy. She tapped his arm with her finger until he looked down at her through a groggy haze.

"I can't breathe." She whispered. Grunting Riley rolled off of her and seemed to fall back to sleep but moments later his arms snaked out and pulled her hard against him. 

She waited for more, waited for him to take her again like Angus would have, but he did nothing but hug her and snore. She blinked back some tears as she stared at the ceiling and silently apologized to her family again before drifting off to a nightmare filled slumber. 

***************************************************

A couple of months had gone by since Jessica's fever. In many ways things had gone the way Jimmy had hoped. She was back to normal physically and she followed every command to a T. To the point where Riley had given her permission to resume seeing the horses, and he even allowed her to see the dogs. 

With supervision Jessica would go out for brief visits to the kennel or the barn. This was a relief because Jim had feared that Angus' abuse of her weeks before may have undermined Jim's attempts to have Jessica change her approach to interacting with the men. 

In addition to Jessica's near perfect behavior, Jim began to notice subtle differences in how Jessica acted when she was alone with him, Scott and Josh versus how she acted when Riley or Angus were around. 

When Angus or Riley were around, Jessica seemed to be her usual reserved self, but when it was just him Scott and Josh she seemed far more relaxed. And when he was alone with her Jessica seemed almost giddy. She'd even gone through a whole night with him, in which she hadn't had a single nightmare. 

Even more amazing was that with Riley's commandment, Angus barely paid attention to Jessica at all. He seemed to watch her from afar, but in the whole time since Jessica had recovered, he had grabbed her a few times, slapped her once, but other than that, the violence had decreased. 

And while all of this was good, Jim's inability to trust Jessica completely made what was supposed to be a positive and happy change into an emotionally draining and frustrating one. Scott and Josh felt it too ... and they lamented the ironic cruelty of it often. 

Every act of Jessica's had the potential for another purpose. It was hard not to second guess the reason or sincerity behind Jessica's words or actions

But over the past few days something seemed off with Jessica. To begin with Riley and Angus had been away for the two days but during that time Jessica's behavior had been almost as introverted and reserved as when they were home. 

That very moment Jessica sat on the sofa, curled up into a self-protective ball. Jim had had his night with her the previous night, and Jessica had been really tired. She'd fallen to sleep within the first few minutes of the TV show that they were watching and rather than cuddle like they normally did, Jessica kept her physical distance from him. 

Then during the day she'd fallen to sleep on the sofa for most of the day. Now, after dinner, the men had proposed a game of cards, but Jessica sat on the sofa, knees drawn up and simply shook her head. Jim, Josh and Scott exchanged bewildered looks. Jim felt the prickles of paranoia ripple under his skin. 

"Come on Jess, here's a chance for you to win another favor." Jim urged. 

The tinge of despair in Jim's voice made Jessica look up at him. He was looking at her with a perplexed expression. Scott and Josh sat on dining room chairs that they'd moved on the other side of the coffee table and were watching her as well. 

She felt like she should smile or something ... something to make them relax. But she didn't feel like it. She wasn't relaxed and at the moment she didn't care if they were. 

She felt angry and annoyed. She pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. Her period was coming and as usual she hurt, everywhere. Her stomach, her breasts, her head, everywhere. And she felt angry. Inside she felt like her blood was boiling. She'd always felt like this just before her period started but since she'd been with the men, the extra anger, irritation, annoyance had been hidden as part of her constant anger, irritation, annoyance, and hatred of the men and the situation. 

Now ... now that things were calmer, she noticed these heightened sensations much more. And she didn't know what to do with them. Since she'd started using the universal gym, she'd found that the physical pain from her period had diminished somewhat. 

But in the past week, she hadn't had a chance to work out. And so now, the pain seemed so much worse. And Riley and Angus were gone. When they were around, she managed to smother her feelings. But somehow, she didn't feel like smothering them around Jim, Josh and Scott. She dropped her forehead to her knees ... maybe she should be more cautious with how she felt. With the amount of anger coursing through her no good could come from letting it out.

Josh had heard the despair in Jim's voice too and he knew just how Jim felt. Things had been going well for so long. Jessica seemed to be enjoying the comic he was creating and the comic books they read together became a ritual that he, and he was certain Jessica, looked forward to. She'd seemed happy ... happier than she'd ever been before. But now this. 

From out of nowhere Jessica seemed distant again. He flashed back to his last night with her and instantly got hard. She'd been fine then ... better than fine, he'd fucked her and she had felt so soft and relaxed beneath him that he'd cum extra hard. 

Just remembering how he'd emptied his balls into her made them constrict in his pants ... God he hoped he didn't cum in his pants. There was only one place he ever wanted his cum and that was in Jessica. In her warm and tight pussy ... and suddenly it dawned on him, fuck she hadn't had her pill.

"Christ ..." Josh muttered. Kicking back his he stood. "We forgot to give her the pill." He stalked off to the kitchen to get a pill.

"Shit ..." Scott muttered. That reminded him that he still hadn't fucked Jessica ... nor touched her, since the promise he'd made. He felt his groin tighten as he remembered the nights he had had with her ... her masturbating ... using the toys he'd bought for her. She hadn't asked him to touch her yet ... hadn't even let him use the toys on her. Just watch. 

He groaned as the pain in his balls began. He crumpled over a little. At least she let him do that ... but he had been sure that she would have asked him to pleasure her by now. The upside of it though ... he thought to himself as he watched Josh coming back, was that at least he knew she couldn't get pregnant with his kid. But her strange behavior now worried him. What if she never asked him to fuck her? God, what would he do then?  

"The pills are done." Josh said returning and stopping next to Jessica, "Here you're going to need this ...." He added holding a pad out to her. Jessica's face turned bright red. The one thing she couldn't get used to was having them have so much control over her body. 

Thank God she had had her period before she'd gotten to this retched place. Thank God she'd had it when she'd had the chance to talk to her Mom about it. Otherwise that would have made the humiliation of the men knowing ... of them handing out pads to her like they were band aids, one thousand times worse. 

"Jessica ..." Josh repeated, waving the pad in front of her face. 

That was the final straw. She wanted to take her own damn pills, wanted to control her pad supply herself, wanted some pills for her pain, she didn't want to place any bets for stupid favors that were meaningless in the long run. Didn't they consider that what she really wanted to ask for was to go home? They probably thought they were doing her some kind of favor with the bets. Knowing Jimmy, Jessica was sure of it. But it wasn't the kind of favor she wanted. Not right now anyway. Jessica grabbed the pad from Josh's hand. 

"Thanks for the news flash!" she said. And while she felt like yelling, yelling so loud the roof would come off the house, her voice was very low and controlled. Angry, low and controlled. Josh's expression shifted from shocked, to angry, to confused to shocked again and his jaw hung open. Jessica noticed both Jim and Scott looking like she had insulted them somehow. Her head hurt and she dropped it to her knees again. She didn't care.

"Jessica ..." Josh said in a stern voice, grabbing her shoulder. Jessica jerked away ... her shoulder hurt too. 

"Jessica!" All three men growled simultaneously. Josh had crouched down in front of her. She raised her head to find his angry face inches from hers. Scott and Jim had gotten to their feet and stood towering over her.

"I'm sorry ..." Jessica said quietly. She tried to drop her head down again, but Josh caught her chin and tilted her head back. "It hurts so much ... I'm sorry."

"What hurts?" Josh asked, eyeing her with suspicion. He looked really angry.

"Everything." Jessica said and a tear rolled down her cheek. "My head, my abdomen, my arms, ... everything. And I feel so angry. I just want to scream." She continued. "I don't want to play cards, I don't want you giving me my birth control pills, and I don't want you telling me when I will need a pad! It's my body ..." she said with a sob. Tears poured down her face as Josh continued to clutched her chin. The men watched her in silence.




Lisa Ch. 05a: Only Human



"PMS." Scott finally said.

"What?" Jim asked, unable to take his eyes off of Jessica. He was at a loss for how to respond to her.

"Pre-menstrual Syndrome." Scott said. Jim and Josh looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Women get it before they have their periods!" he snapped at them. He'd read about it in some of the literature he'd bought for Jessica. Thank God he had because otherwise Jessica may have found herself at the receiving end of a good spanking judging from the looks on Josh and Jim's faces. Not to mention his initial reaction.

"Oh come on ..." he said when Josh and Jim didn't stop staring at him, "your mothers probably had it ... your sister Jim? Just before their periods, they get all emotional, angry ... downright bitchy." He paused, reaching down to stroke Jessica's hair. 

"Tired?" Jim asked. The previous night making more sense now.

Scott nodded, "And they can have a lot of pain. Everywhere." 

"Oh no!" Jessica suddenly said and jerked her head away from both Josh and Scott and leaning over the sofa she vomited. A lot.

"And they can vomit?" Josh asked, rubbing Jessica's back as she heaved over and over again.

"I guess so ..." Scott looking at his feet that were now covered in Jessica dinner.

"S ... s ... s orry," Jessica struggled to say between fountains of projectile puke. 

"It's okay Jess," Jim said, "I'll get the mop and bucket ... you just get out, what you have to get out ..." and he disappeared down the hallway.

Jessica had vomited for another two or three minutes, dry heaving for another few. Josh had narrowly missed getting it on him, and he now sat on the sofa, Jessica resting against him. He held her tight with one arm and was stroking her head with the other.

Scott had gone to wash his feet and when he returned he helped Jim clean the floor.

When they were done, they stood looking at Josh and Jessica.

"Wow, that's nasty." Jim mumbled.

"What can we do to help her?" Josh asked.

"Not much," Scott said, at least that was what he had determined from his reading. Jim and Josh looked at Scott in awe. They knew that he was a lady's man ... but they had never guessed that he knew that much about women's physiology. 

"Josh ... Josh ..." Jessica said, sitting up and pushing his hands away from her. "I know you're trying to help me ... but it really does hurt when you touch me. Do you mind if I just lie on the sofa by myself?"

Josh hesitated. He was on the brink of saying no and pull her back against him. She had felt good there, and the only way he could think of making her feel better was to hug her. Plus, it felt wrong to let her go. But she was shaking. Her body had been vibrating against him and between that and the puking he was willing to concede that what he wanted was of little consequence compared to what she needed.

"Pain medication would help." Scott said as Josh got up and Jessica lay down on the sofa, clutching her legs to her chest.

The men exchanged a look. 

"We're not allowed to give her medication ..." Josh said.

"To hell with that." Jim grumbled. 

Scott and Josh looked at him in surprise.

"Look at her ..." he said, his hand sweeping her prostrate form. Jessica moaned. "Not medicating her when she feels like this is like torturing her. I thought we were past that."

Scott and Josh nodded.

"I'll get her some pills." Josh said and headed to the barn. 

"I've got the water." Scott said and headed to the kitchen.

"It'll be okay Jessica." Jim said, kneeling down next to her head. His hand hovered over her. His every instinct urging him to touch her, but her obvious pain causing him to pause.

"Here Jessica. Sit up." Josh said having returned from the barn and having taken Jim's place, two pills in his hands.

"Here," Scott said handing Josh the glass of water. Jessica sat up with a groan. She took the pills and washed them down.

"Thanks." She said as she lay back down on the sofa, legs pulled firmly to her chest.

"Why hasn't this happened before?" Jim asked. "She's been here for a long time ..." "It probably has." Scott said.

"And we never noticed?" Josh asked.

"We never cared." Jim said quietly. He felt like shit. He could tell by the looks on Scott and Josh's faces that they didn't feel much better. Scott dropped into the armchair, Josh and Jim onto the other two empty chairs.

"Jessica," Jim said. "How long does this usually last?"

"A couple of days ..." she replied, "sometimes three or four. I've never puked before though ..."

"And when the bleeding starts ... you feel okay?" Scott asked.

"Usually." Jessica said and then groaned. It felt like her brain was going to slide out of her nose. "It feels better then ... still sore, but much better."

"This started a few days ago didn't it?" Jim asked. Jessica nodded. "Well at least it'll mostly be over when Riley and Angus get back." He was certain that despite laying off of Jessica due to Riley's new rules Angus would find some way to make Jessica's situation worse for her. 

Jessica groaned, clearly not believing she'd escape the notice or attention of Angus. Jim didn't really believe it himself either. There were some things that were outside his, Josh and Scott abilities to do for Jessica but replaying her words about the birth control pills and pads Jim realized there was something they could do to make her happier.

"If it helps at all, we can't promise anything when Riley and Angus are around but when it's just us, you can control the pills and pads for yourself."

"What the fuck?" Josh demanded just as Jessica gaped at Jim with an expression of absolute surprise which quickly changed to joy.

"Jim ..." Scott grumbled in a low tone.

"She's right you know." Jim said. "It is her body. She should have some control over it." 

Scott laughed. "I dare you to try and convince Riley and Angus of that."

Josh groaned, not looking forward to another round of Jim versus Angus. Jessica gasped and clearly didn't relish the idea of involving Riley or Angus in any way.

Jim shook his head, "This is just between us. I know how going down that road would end and Jessica would be the one to suffer most. Jess, you'll just have to be content with getting what you can when you're with us. You good with that?"

Jessica started to nod her head but thought better of it. Clutching her aching head all she could manage was a muffled, "Mhmmm."

Neither Scott or Josh looked particularly pleased when Jim swung his gaze to them. 

"They're going to kick our asses when they find out." Scott said quietly. 

"If they find out." Jim replied.

Jessica's eyes began to close and she seemed to be relaxing. 

"Pain meds kicking in?" Jim asked. 

"Yes ..." Jessica replied in a sleepy voice.

"Need to sleep?" Scott asked. Jessica managed a slight nod before drifting off.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Josh said to Jim in a quiet voice. 

"Me too." Jim replied, his mind racing. Somehow there had to be a way to get Riley onboard. Angus would do what Riley said. Jim didn't know how, but he was going to get Jessica some of her dignity back even if in the whole scheme of things it was a minor achievement. Control over birth control and sanitary napkins paled in comparison to what he knew she really wanted. But maybe it was the next step toward making Jessica want to stay.

*****************************************************

Jessica flicked her eyes up from the magazine. It had to be the hundredth time that she'd done so. It was over a week and a half since she'd vomited on the living room floor. Her period had ended two days earlier and she was in Scott's room, reading a new porno magazine that he'd bought. 

Scott lay on his stomach across the foot of his bed, doing the same. 

Jessica couldn't stop looking at him. And each time she did, she felt a tightening between her legs. It reminded her of how it felt before she orgasmed. The only time she felt the same sensation was when she played with herself, or looked at the magazines. She'd never had that happen when she saw Scott until that very moment. 

She tried to determine what had changed. Scott, Jim and Josh had been really nice to her while she had her period. They hadn't touched her , not even a hug, until she told them it didn't hurt anymore. That hadn't stopped Angus of course. 

Riley left her alone when she had her time of the month but nothing stopped Angus. To her knowledge Jim, Josh and Scott had not told Angus or Riley about the effects of her period on her, and she was glad. She was certain Angus would take the opportunity to purposely cause her pain. But regardless of Angus and Riley it was nice having personal space with Jim, Josh and Scott.

Scott never expected her to masturbate when she had her period, so she'd had a break from that. And now ... now she had a new magazine, toys at her disposal ... although Scott encouraged her to use her fingers mostly. 

He'd said something about not being able to compete with a toy. She hadn't understood what he'd meant when he'd said it, but now, with another tightening between her legs she remembered something else he'd said. He said she'd ask him to touch her. He'd said that he could give her more than she could give herself. At the time she'd known that she would never want him to touch her ... would never ask him to touch her. Now she wasn't so sure. Had he tricked her somehow?

Scott flipped the page in the magazine that he was reading, and a slight moan escaped him. Jessica watched as he pressed his pelvis into the bed. Inexplicably, she wanted him to be pressing into her.

"Scott ..." she said before she even knew what she wanted to say.

"Hmmm, " he asked looking up from the page. He had that look on his face. He always had that look when he read a porn magazine or he watched her masturbate. 

"Uhhh." He gasped as his eyes fell on her. He thrust his pelvis into the bed again and his expression changed slightly ... became a little pained. That happened when he watched her masturbate too. And when it did, Jessica was certain that he was going to break his promise and touch her. But he didn't. He'd put his hand down his pants and satisfy himself, watching her the whole time. Just like he was watching her now. Jessica felt a shock shoot through her. 

Scott licked his lips. God she looked so good. So hot. Even with her clothes on, just sitting there. She had that look that she always had just before she orgasmed but he'd trained himself to ignore it. So many times he wanted to jump her. So many times he almost did. He closed his eyes for a moment. It wouldn't be long, and they'd both masturbate ... not long. He got a grip on himself and exhaled. He opened his eyes and almost came in his pants. She looked so ... ready.

"Were you going to say something?" he asked but he had to turn back to his magazine. He couldn't look at her anymore.

"Do you know those drugs?" Jessica asked. She sounded out of breath but Scott couldn't chance looking at her. "The drugs in some of the stories? The ones that the men slip into the womens' drinks?"

Scott nodded his head, but still couldn't look at her. "Date rape drugs?"

"Yes." Jessica nodded, more to herself than him because he was looking back at his magazine. But that had to be it ... that had to be the reason she felt like she did. He had to have given her a date rape drug. Jessica was quiet for a minute ... she had a fundamental problem with giving in to drugs. He would have cheated if he'd done that, but God she couldn't help the urges. She was beginning to pant.

"What about them?" Scott asked flicking his eyes up when she'd been quiet but he flicked them back down right away. Holy fuck, she was about to get off and he so badly wanted to get her off himself.

"They ... they make the girls want sex, right? Make them crazy for it?" Jessica panted.

Scott was shaking his head. "Date rape drugs knock girls out. They don't remember anything afterwards. You're thinking of aphrodisiacs. There are some foods and drugs that make women horny. Really horny."

Scott waited for a minute, for Jessica to say something more, but she didn't. He could hear her breathing. "Why?" he said, turning his eyes to her but fighting not to turn his head. He was going to blow it. Apparently he wasn't as good at controlling himself as he was beginning to pride himself on being.

"Did ... " Jessica paused. She should have been embarrassed by this, by how badly she wanted him. Was this healthy? What was wrong with her? "Did ..." she tried again. It was beginning to hurt now. "Did you give me one of them? An aphrodisiac?"

Scott was silent for a minute. He thought he'd detected a little of an accusation in her tone.

"No. All I gave you was the cream ... that's it."

"Okay ..." Jessica replied after a moment, and suddenly a thought occurred to Scott.

"Why?" he demanded, snapping his head up to look at her. She had moved a little closer to him and she almost looked like she was in pain herself. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know ... " she said and a flash of fear across her face. "It hurts ..."

"What does?" He got to his knees but was afraid to move toward her. He felt a pain himself, right in his balls.

"Between my legs. I think, think it's my clitoris ..."

"Sounds like blue balls." Scott said bringing his hand to his own private parts and bringing his knees up, curling into a ball. "Welcome to my world. Masturbate, it will take care of it."

Jessica was shaking her head. Her chest was heaving so hard that he thought her breasts were going to pop right out of her shirt ... not that he'd mind. No, no, he would mind ... God he needed some relief. He began undoing his pants.

"I don't want to masturbate ..." Jessica panted out and something in the way she said it made Scott freeze. He looked up at her.

"What do you want then?" he asked slowly ... carefully. He was afraid to hope.

"You. I want you to masturbate me." Jessica said and another shock of pleasure hit her so hard she arched her back, throwing her head back and moaning, "please Scott, please, I think I'm going to die ..."

Scott lunged toward her, grabbed her legs, dragged her down the bed until he was pressing his now completely rock hard penis against her.

"I don't think I can stop if you tell me to ..." he growled as he ripped her shirt open, pulled her bra over her breasts and took one in his mouth.

"I don't care ..."

"I may hurt you ... " he said releasing the first breast and taking the nipple of the other between his teeth.

"I don't care ..." Jessica panted and tried to put her hand under his shirt. She felt the hard muscles of this stomach ... she wanted his shirt off, his pants off, but Scott pushed her hands away, grabbed both her wrists firmly in his left hand and pinned them above her head.

"I'm warning you right now Jessica, keep your hands up here. Here!" he emphasized, squeezing her wrists and slamming them into the bed above her head. "If you don't, they may get ripped off."

Jessica was nodding. "Please hurry ..." she gasped.

Scott let go of her wrists, got up on his knees and tore her pants off. Groaning with pleasure he grabbed her thighs and pushed her legs apart, far apart. Her pussy lips parted for him and he almost came as he looked at the pink meat that they presented him. And the smell ... all reason left him, and Scott dove face first into the warm, liquidy delicacy that awaited him. 

Scott chewed, nipped, licked, slid his tongue into her, and Jessica screamed as pleasure erupted in her. Scott put his hand over her mouth but she continued to cum and continued to scream.

"Jesus Christ!" Scott murmured, looking at the bedroom door. "The others are going to come running if you keep screaming like that!"

But Jessica couldn't stop. Her head snapped from side to side and she continued to scream. Looking around the bed, Scott found Jessica's underwear and shoved it in her mouth. It dulled the noise a little bit. Scott rammed his knee against her pussy and rubbed as she pulsated against it. He pulled his pants down.

"Mother fucker!" he yelled as he fought with his pant legs and his underwear. Finally he kicked off his clothes and pushed Jessica back on the bed. She had sat up while he'd tried to get his pants off and gyrated against his leg.

Scott grabbed her by the nape of her knees and pushed her legs open, and unable to control himself, he thrust into her. Over and over. He grasped her shoulders with his hands and held her in place as he rammed and rammed. 

He lowered his mouth to hers and used his teeth to pull her underwear out of her mouth. He flung it to the side and brought his lips down hard on her, stifling the screams that continued to emit form Jessica. He kissed, he licked, he bit, he explored and eventually Jessica stopped screaming and started kissing back.

Unable to control himself any more, Scott exploded inside her, groaning into her mouth. Eventually, Scott's thrusts began to slow. But he kissed her. And kissed her. And Jessica kissed back. And then he collapsed on her. Scott lay on top of Jessica, listening to her breathe. He couldn't believe it. 

Finally, finally they'd had sex the way they should have from the beginning. Finally, she'd wanted him. But he thought about how he'd eaten her out, how he'd thrust into her, how he'd bitten her lips. What if he'd hurt her? What if she didn't want to do it again. God, he couldn't take that. He ran a hand down the length of her body. He could be more gentle. He could prove it to her. 

Gently, he kissed his way down her body, first one nipple then the other. Jessica moaned a little but still slept. He kissed her abdomen, then he gently parted her legs and kissed her thighs. Then with his thumb he gently stroked the hair on her pussy, and then stroked down one lip, letting his thumb disappear into the bush. 

He felt her hot and wet on his thumb as he slid it between her lips. He was erect again. Jessica moaned ... holy shit.  He slid his thumb into her and then brought his tongue down between her lips. She tasted so good ... she was so wet ... she moaned and then her eyes opened and she looked down at Scott. 

He licked a little harder, thrust deeper with his thumb. Jessica sighed and began to pant. He pushed deeper with his tongue, with his teeth. She was so wet, Scott was making a lapping sound, like a dog drinking from a bowl of water. Suddenly Jessica shivered, arched, moaned, and even more wetness spilled onto Scott's face. Her legs began to twitch, and she looked down at Scott while he continued to lick.

"A little twitching won't stop me," he murmured, "you're going to cum again Jessica ... over and over, all night."

********************************************************

They lay in one another's arms. It was hours later. Scott kept stroking Jessica's side, from her shoulder all the way down to her butt, as far as he could reach while lying beside her.

"You seemed to enjoy that," Scott said, kissing her forehead. 

"Mmmhmmm," Jessica replied, and rolled on to her side so she was leaning against him. She kissed his nipple.

"I didn't hurt you?"

Jessica giggled against his chest. "No. My legs feel like rubber though."

"That's good, that's what multiple orgasms will get you." He said, rubbing her bum. Jessica pushed up on her elbow and looked down at Scott. He was smiling at her with a lazy, sensual, smile. She kissed his lips. Then she slid her eyes down his chest. And there was the scar from when she had shot him. Her eyes locked on it. She couldn't bring herself to apologize for it. She didn't feel sorry. But she brought her lips to it and kissed it gently. Scott stroked her head. 

"What about you?" she asked forcing her eyes up from the scar and locking them on Scott's brown eyes. "How are your legs?"

"They're on the verge of wobbliness ..." he said with a toothy smile.




Lisa Ch. 05a: Only Human



Jessica ran her hand down Scott's chest, down his stomach and began to stroke Scott's penis.

"I could help you with that you know." She said smiling as his penis hardened in her hand. "I could make you completely unable to walk."

"I have no doubt." Scott said and caught his breath as Jessica began to kiss her way done to where her hand stroked him.

"I've never done this before." She said, licking the tip of his penis.

"That's a good start ..." Scott managed to stutter.

"All the books and magazines say it's pretty complicated ..." she said flicking her tongue on the tip of his penis again. 

Scott groaned. "I'm sure you can manage ... but I can help you along. Open your mouth ..." he gasped. When Jessica did, he pushed his cock into it and grasped the top of her head. "Just try to swallow it ... all of it." He said, gently pushing on her head. He threw his head back and sighed as pleasure over took him.

******************************************************

The next morning Scott felt like a school boy. He made Jessica breakfast and was relieved when the men didn't say anything about her screaming. Maybe they'd fallen to sleep and missed it. While Jessica ate, Scott kept circling around her. He wanted to touch her, he couldn't help himself.

"Will you fucking sit down!" Angus finally shouted at him, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Gotta go to the bathroom." Scott mumbled, his cock having stiffened significantly while he circled Jessica. He practically ran down the hallway. He hoped no one had noticed it.

"What's up with him?" Angus asked Riley.

"Dunno." Riley said with a shrug.

Jessica lowered her head and shovelled eggs into her mouth.

Jim watched her and tried to figure out why she looked different. Her face was blazing red ... but given Angus' shouting he wasn't too surprised. Beyond that there was something else. Something he couldn't put his finger on.

"I fed Baby." Josh said coming in the front door and placing the pup on the floor.

"Thank you ..." Jessica said. When she finished her eggs she looked over at Riley.  He seemed oblivious to the fact that she was done eating.

"She's done Riley. Can she get up from the table?" Josh asked. Jessica exhaled in appreciation when Riley nodded.

Scott came back down the hall as Jessica moved to where the puppy sat on the floor. She bent over to pick him up, and Scott turned on his heel and headed back to the bathroom. Oh man, he had a problem. If this kept up, he was going to go blind. His only hope was that his dick would learn some control, and soon. In the bathroom he jacked off, and then after washing his hands he stood looking in the mirror. 

"Get it together ..." he ordered himself. He closed his eyes but memories of the previous night kept flashing through his mind. "Think about the shooting!" he mumbled. He remembered the fear of Jessica pointing the gun at him and firing. As his erection faded away he opened his eyes and looked in the mirror again. He knew Jessica could still be planning to escape. 

He decided to think about that when he went back out to the living room, he'd just imagine that nothing had changed. He threw cold water on his face and went back out to the living room. He mentally repeated that nothing had changed and he felt a sadness flow through him. He really wished things had changed. But even though he knew every part of her body now ... in detail, he didn't know her mind. And he never would. As he walked into the living room and watched Jessica cuddle Baby, he stopped and stared at her. 

He wanted her to promise to be his ... forever. It was a long shot ... but he was a betting man. He bet at the track regularly. Surely the odds of this were improving as time went on. But for the time being he'd have to spend the day in the barn working. He needed a distraction, his cock was having a hard time adjusting to being with Jessica outside his bedroom.

*************************************************************

Scott had worked in the barn like a demon. Partially to kill the horniness that wouldn't go away. Partially to kill the inexplicable sadness that he still felt. Since he'd thought about the promise that he wanted from Jessica, he felt hollow. 

It was a no win situation, he realized. If he asked her and she refused to promise, it would hurt. If he asked her and she promised ... he would never know if she meant it or if she was just saying it to create an opportunity for escape. 

Still feeling hollow he had come in, showered, and now sat eating dinner with the others. While he ate he was unable to take his eyes off of Jessica. But Jessica, for her part, was doing her best to not look at him. The more it became obvious that Jessica was avoiding him, the bigger the hole inside him grew.

Jessica sat hunched over her plate. She pressed her thighs together. Her private area tingled and tingled. It had been happening all day but when Scott came back in from outside, and Jessica saw him, she doubled over from the force of the sensation that struck her. She'd almost screamed. She wanted him, physically, so badly. It was ... embarrassing. And with Scott's reappearance from a day of absence, Jessica suddenly felt so shy. 

Images of the previous night played in her head. He had touched her, kissed her, licked her, bit her, in places so private ... if it hadn't been for the magazines she never would have imagined that people did those kinds of things. And then she had done it for him. He had told her to swallow the sperm that came shooting out of his manhood. And she had. He'd even had her lick it off of the areas where it had spilled over. 

And she'd wanted to. Inexplicably, she'd wanted to. It had seemed almost normal in the bedroom, but out here, in the kitchen, with the other men ... with Baby on the floor ... it felt surreal, odd. And she couldn't look at Scott. Not without physically wanting him, but also not without being incredibly embarrassed and incredibly shy.  

Scott was trying to think of something to say to her. Something to make her look at him. But he couldn't think of anything logical. 'How was your day' seemed completely ridiculous given the circumstances. Finally he settled on clearing his throat.

None of the men noticed, but he saw Jessica shift her eyes to him and then snap them back down to her plate. So, she was purposely not looking at him. He felt anger begin to grow. He cleared his throat again. This time Jessica didn't even shift her eyes. He cleared it again. This time all the men looked over at him. Angus, as usual, looked annoyed.

"Tickle ... " Scott said.

"Here, have some beer." Josh said passing him his half empty bottle.

"Thanks." Scott mumbled taking a swig, but his eyes never left Jessica. And her eyes never left her plate. The rest of the night was a living hell for Scott. 

He sat sulking in the armchair while Jessica curled herself up on the sofa with the puppy and read comic books with Josh. Well, at the end of the night, she was going to have to look at him. Look at him and give him a good night kiss. He helped himself to several more beer while he waited. 

By the time 10 o'clock rolled around, Scott was tipsy, but he was also sitting at the edge of his seat waiting. Finally Josh put down his magazine.

"Bed time." He said to Jessica. 

Jessica handed her magazine to Josh and then flitted her eyes around the room ... and Scott could have sworn she flitted past him extra quickly. She got to her feet and started with Jim, who was to Scott's right, and then she proceeded in the opposite direction, making Scott last. 

By the time she finished with Riley to his left, Scott was standing, and flexing his hands into fists. When Jessica turned in his direction, she stopped and stood head down. She didn't move. The other men stood looking between her and Scott. Scott normally wasn't someone she had trouble saying good night to. Angus leaned forward in his chair. Here was an unexpected opportunity to punish Jessica. 

"Jessica ... " Scott growled. "Get over here!"

Jessica's heart thudded. Scott was angry. Very angry ... and she was breaking the rules. She was jeopardizing her freedoms. Taking a deep breath, Jessica shuffled to stand before Scott, but she couldn't look at him. 

In frustration, Scott grabbed her chin and tilted her face up. When Jessica looked at him, for the split second before her eyes slid away, she made a small choking noise and crossed her legs. And her cheeks were blazing red. 

Scott paused. She looked uncomfortable ... and really embarrassed. Maybe she was having the same problem he was. He leaned down to her ear,

"Are you ... horny?" he growled quietly. Jessica nodded her head slightly, but was so embarrassed she tried to pull her chin from his hand.

"What the hell is going on?" Angus demanded. Scott looked up and noticed that the men had leaned in a little, probably trying to hear what he'd said to Jessica. From their expressions, they hadn't heard. But Angus had that happy look he got when he was about to pummel Jessica for something. Scott turned to Josh.

"Can I have a minute alone with her?" he asked.

Josh was looking back and forth between Scott and Jessica.  He hesitated in answering ... had it been Angus he would have flat out said no, but Scott should be fairly safe. He didn't think he'd beat her ... not when it wasn't his night.

"A minute ... in my room."

Scott nodded, grabbed Jessica by her arm and dragged her down the hallway to Josh's room. He slammed the door shut and pulled Jessica to face him. He took her chin in his hand and tilted her face.

"Why won't you look at me?" he demanded.

"It hurts ..." Jessica answered.

Scott didn't know what to say. He watched a whole new layer of bright redness spread across her face.

"Are you embarrassed?" he asked.

"Yes ..." Jessica replied. 

He had an angry tinge to his voice that made her very aware that she had not been following the rules. 

"Why?" he asked, the anger in his voice replaced with gentleness as he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He lowered his face to within inches of hers. The proximity made his cock jump to attention. Jessica felt it against her and blushed even more.

"I don't know. Things seem so different when we're not in your room, but when I look at you ... and I think about what we did ..." Jessica's face turned redder and she slid her eyes away from his.

"Jessica ... look at me."

Jessica forced her eyes back to his but wished she could curl up and disappear.

"Are you afraid of what we did?"

"No," she said. What she felt wasn't fear exactly.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes." She whispered but she turned even redder and her eyes slid away again.

"Jessica ..." Scott said, tilting his head so his eyes caught hers. "All we did was become intimate. That's what men and women do. It's normal. It's okay. You don't need to be embarrassed."

Jessica nodded slightly.

"Do you think you can look at me now? When we're out there?"

"I don't know." Jessica said feeling a pulling her pelvis again, tingling up her legs and into the V between them. "When I look at you, I get ..." her voice faded and the red returned on her cheeks.

"Urges?" Scott asked, a smile spreading across his face.

Jessica nodded.

He leaned in to her and said quietly. "Me too. I had to whack off a few times just to make it through the day." While he was talking Scott ran his hand over Jessica's hip, to her thigh.

"Oh ..." Jessica gasped and pressed herself against him.

"Oh my God Jessica ... I'm going to lose it." Scott said bringing his lips to her, but then pulling back. "This is Josh's night with you ... I can't ... I shouldn't. I'm sorry but I'm sure Josh can take care of things for you."  He almost choked on the last half of that sentence ... he wanted to do it himself. He squeezed his eyes shut. God he wanted to do it himself.

"What's wrong?" he asked as Jessica pulled away from him. He opened his eyes and saw her staring at him with a panic stricken expression, she was shaking her head. 

"No?" Scott asked. "Josh can't?" he asked in disbelief. Scott leaned back a little. He was certain the other men were having sex with Jessica.

"You and Josh aren't ... you don't have sex?"

He didn't think Jessica could possibly get any redder, but she did. Scott brought his hand up and rubbed his thumb on her cheek. Feeling somehow that by rubbing he could rub out the redness. Jessica was looking down at his chest again ... she brought both her hands up to rest on it. She copied Scott's thumb strokes on her cheek with her thumbs on his chest. She was nodding. With a sigh, she looked up.

"But, we're not ... intimate."

Scott stared at her for a moment. In truth he hadn't really made any kind of distinction between sex and intimacy. He was taken aback that Jessica did. He brought his thumb to her lips and stroked. Boy did he want to strip her down and spend some more time between her legs. He wanted it so bad ... but he just couldn't do it. Josh was waiting ... he was taking Josh's time right now.

"Okay, then Jess, you'll just have to take care of it yourself." 

Jessica went pale. And her eyes seemed to grow by 4 or 5 sizes. She was shaking her head.

"Breathe Jessica!" He said when her chest stopped moving.

Jessica gasped.

"Why can't you just masturbate Jessica ... you do it all the time."

"What if he sees me?" Jessica asked in a way that left little doubt that it would be one of the most traumatic things to ever happen to her. Scott could do nothing but stare at Jessica. An unsettled feeling washed over him. 

"Jessica. Are you intimate with any of the other men?"

When Jessica shook her head, he wasn't sure how he should feel. 

Part of him thought he should be happy. And in a strange way he did feel like he had a special connection with Jessica. But for some reason ... he felt responsibility weighing down on him. 

Emotions were swirling around in him. Emotions that he didn't recognize nor know how to handle. As he was trying to figure out what to do next, he forgot that while his one hand was on Jessica's face his other had remained on her leg. 

Jessica moved closer to him, and pressed her pelvis against it. Well, he couldn't leave her like this. He was about to pass out from all the blood rushing to his balls, but he could at least go and jerk off. She apparently couldn't ... or wouldn't. Scott glanced at the door. He had a few minutes, hopefully.

"Okay Jessica ..." he murmured, reaching for the button on her pants. "I'll take care of you. Not the way I really want to. There's no time. But I think to keep ourselves sane we'll have to really go at it on the nights your with me. Get it out of our systems, and try not to think about it in between."

Jessica was nodding, but also pressing herself harder against him. She brought her lips to his. He had to do this fast and then get the hell out of there. He doubted very much that Josh would appreciate him eating her out on his bed ... and given much longer that was exactly what he'd be doing. He slid his hand down her pants, fingered his way through the curls that he found inside her underwear, and slid his finger between her lips. He found her clitoris and rubbed.

"Ahhh ..." Jessica moaned against his mouth, and she lifted her leg, pressing herself against him. He stroked and stroked, and before longer she was moaning so loud he was afraid Josh would hear them. He kissed her, hoping his tongue in her mouth would quiet her, and while she didn't scream like the night before, she came close. Suddenly he felt wetness seep between his fingers and Jessica quieted, lowering her leg she fell against him panting.

"We'll have to work on the screaming ..." he whispered into her hair. "I personally love it, but with four other men in the house, it may not be a great thing to do."

"Sorry ... " Jessica mumbled into his chest.

"Don't be. I'm just glad you're enjoying yourself. Do you feel better now?"

"Yes. Thanks."

"Okay." He said. God he had to go. He looked over at Josh's bed. Handcuffs hung open on the headboard. "Come on." He said leading her to the bed.

She sat down, and he locked her wrist into one of the cuffs.

"I'll get Josh. Get some rest okay ... good night." He kissed her forehead and left before he could do something he was sure Josh would make him regret later. 

************************************************************* One month later 

"God damnit," Jim said and then laughed when Jessica inhaled with great exaggeration. 

"Ah the sweet smell of victory." She said with a giggle. They'd been playing two handed euchre and for the fourth time in a row Jessica had beat his pants off. He watched her shuffle the cards before dealing. He never got tired of her smile. 

The previous night he'd played his guitar for hours and she'd smiled and swayed the whole time. Urging him to play song after song. With Angus paying less attention to her the past little while, she'd really seemed to relax with him. Become less guarded. Even her nightmares had stopped ... while she was with him anyway.

"Keep that up and I'm going to be afraid to play with you." Jim said with a laugh. "Oh yeah, almost forgot..." he added holding an old issue of Angus' Automotive Illustrative out to her, "Angus tossed this the other night."

"Oh, thanks." Jessica said taking the magazine eagerly and leafing through it. A few weeks back Angus had left an old edition lying on the coffee table and Jessica had read it cover to cover. Enjoying it until she found out it was Angus'. 

She'd dropped it like it would bite her and it took some work on Jim's part to convince her that Angus wouldn't care if she read it ... he'd been tossing it. She pulled Baby onto her lap and perused a few pages. Well. This was as good a time to stop playing cards anyway. The other men were outside doing chores and it was time for Jim to make dinner. 

"Alright Jess," Jim announced while getting to his feet and heading into the kitchen. "I'll get supper started. Spaghetti sound good to ..." he turned back to the living room and ran into Jessica. "W w what are you doing?" he asked.

"Can I help?" she asked in a tone so light Jimmy got the feeling that she should have been chewing gum and twirling a string of hair around her finger. She stepped around him and into the kitchen.

"It's really not necessary," Jim said panicking as he thought about all the knives that lay within reach. She wasn't supposed to be in the kitchen.

"Oh please, come on, there must be something I can cut up for you, I can put the water on for you ..." she said moving toward the pots hanging on the wall.

"Jessica!" Jimmy nearly shouted. She turned to look at him, and actually looked confused. 

"When is the last time you were in the kitchen?" he asked wondering if she were trying to take advantage of him again. 

She shrugged.

"Can't remember can you?" He asked. Jessica shook her head. "That's because you have never been in the kitchen ... you are not allowed in the kitchen."

"I'd like to help ... I love to cook," she said with that same airy tone, "it's not fair that you guys always have to cook ... besides, we can spend time together ... please?" 

Jimmy got the uncomfortable feeling again that Jessica felt she owed him something.

"Jess, you can sit and talk to me while I cook, we're still spending time together ..."

"I know, but that's boring. Please, I really want to be doing something. Actually," Jessica added, her tone becoming serious, 'I really need to be doing something."

Jimmy hesitated. Technically Jessica wasn't allowed in the kitchen alone. If he was with her ... she wasn't really breaking any rules. He knew she was bored a huge amount of the time, if he cleared the kitchen of any potential weapons how could Jessica cooking be an issue?




Lisa Ch. 05a: Only Human



"Alright, why don't you get that pot?" he said indicating the furthest, largest pot. Jessica squealed and jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

"Thank you Jimmy, thank you!" she kissed his lips ... a little longer than he would have expected, and went to get the pot. While her back was turned, he gathered all of the knives in the vicinity and threw them into a drawer that was as far from Jessica as possible. Once she had the pot, she didn't hesitate to get water from the sink, place it on the stove, and turn the stove on. It was as if she did it every day.

"Any veggies to cut up for the sauce?" she asked as she practically skipped to the fridge, and stood peering into it. 

"I got them ..." Jimmy said taking Jessica by the shoulders and moving her out of the way. "Why don't you grate some cheese ..."

"Where's the grater?" she asked, snatching the cheese from Jim's hand. "The water is boiling." She said peering around Jim. He turned to see steam billowing out from under the pot lid. Jessica moved as if to go around him.

"I got it," he said, "you grate." 

"Sit Baby!" Jessica said to the pup that rubbed against her leg. "You think she can eat some cheese?" Jessica asked Jim.

"I don't know ..." Jim said, "try it I guess."

"See if you can catch it ... " she said to Baby. She laughed as the pup nearly missed the piece of cheese. 

Scott walked in the front door and did a double take. He saw Jessica in the kitchen, arm moving up and down, Jim not far from her, back to her, stirring a pot. 

All need to go to the washroom disappeared as fear gripped him. Was Jim stupid enough to give Jessica a knife? He felt like he was living a double life. When he and Jessica were alone in his room, he felt like he and she were different people. He had nothing to fear from her. He knew every part of her body, she, his ... but out here ... he knew nothing. She was a different person. Possibly one who would be willing to stab him with the kitchen knife. He had to get it from her. Just to be on the safe side.

Neither Jim or Jessica had noticed Scott's entrance. Leaning his rifle against the wall as quietly as he could, he took the opportunity to sneak into the kitchen. He saw the dog lying at Jessica's feet. The dog barely noticed him. He crept behind Jessica, the whole time envisioning how he could get the knife from Jessica as safely as possible. 

With the element of surprise, it should be easy. He was about to slip his arm around Jessica's neck, down her front and grab her wrist when he saw the grater on the counter and the orange stub of cheese in her hand. Cheese? She was grating cheese? Relief flooded over him.

"What's going on?" Josh asked from the doorway. 

Jessica turned and jumped when she found Scott standing right behind her.

"You scared me!" she stated, as Scott turned back to her, relieved that it was Josh who had spoken and not Riley, or God help them, Angus. "Don't do that again!" she said giving him a small shove on his chest.

"That goes both ways lady," Scott said, "I think my heart stopped when I saw her in here ..." he said to Jim, "are you nuts? Do you know how Angus and Riley would react?"

"Jesus Jim, she just got her privileges back, what are you trying to pull?" Josh said.

"It was my idea," Jessica interjected. 

All three stood staring at her. 

"I wanted to help. I love to cook." Silence ensued. "I do know how to cook, you know." More silence. "Is it really that hard to believe?" She asked.

"No, what's hard to believe is that after what you've been through with Angus, you'd be dumb enough to get him mad again!" Scott practically shouted. 

Jessica shrank and Scott couldn't believe that she was actually pouting.

"You don't have to be so mean! I just wanted to help that's all. Why should Riley or Angus get mad about that?"

"Why? Why? Oh you're funny Jess. Why don't you ask them that?" Scott demanded.

"Fine!" Jessica said a flicker of fear passing over her expression at the suggestion. "Let me know when you're in a better mood!" and throwing the cheese onto the counter, Jessica pushed past Scott, stomped past Jim and Josh, into the living room and flung herself onto the sofa, Baby following her. 

She scooped her up, turned her back on the kitchen and the men, and hid her face in the puppy's fur.   

"What the hell was that?" Scott asked Jim and Josh, disbelieving what he just saw.

"Guys ... "Jim said quietly, "she was bored. She wanted to help me cook. She has never, ever, suggested something like that before."

"A trick?" Josh asked.

Jim shook his head. "I don't think so. You saw what she just did ... have you ever seen her like that before?"

"Doesn't mean it's not a trick," Scott said.

"About a month ago, she went the whole night without a single nightmare. For the past two weeks she hasn't had a single one while she was with me." Jim said. 

"Not one?" Scott asked.

"What does that mean?" Josh whispered.

"I think she's accepting the fact that she's here, with us." Jim said.

"Well, if Riley or Angus catch her in the kitchen she'll be reconsidering that!" Josh said.

"If she talks to them, like she just did to me, " Scott added watching her sulk on the sofa, "she may not be alive to reconsider anything."

"First off, it's that time of the month, you know she gets crankier then," Jim said.

"Shit ..." Scott hissed through gritted teeth. He'd forgotten about that, and tonight was his night with her.

"And," Jim continued, "she's scared shitless of both Riley and Angus ... even when she has her period she's extra careful around them. I doubt she'll misbehave around them."

"Either one of them could have come through that door while she was grating away," Josh said pointing at the front door.

"Okay ... why don't we see if we can get them to let her help with the cooking?" Jim asked. 

Josh and Scott looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. 

"We'd have to be subtle about it ..." Jim added.

"Let me get this straight ... " Scott said, "you want to play mind games with Riley and Angus?" 

"I guess you could call it that ...I don't know about you guys, but I want her to help me cook. If she's bored, she's going to have time to think. Think about her family, think about how to get out of here ..."

"If Riley or Angus figure out what we're doing they're going to kill us." Scott said.

"All the more reason to make sure they don't figure it out. Look, if we each, gradually, over-time, let it slip that Jessica loves to cook, and then that she's bored, Riley will come to his own conclusions. I mean, you don't honestly think Riley came up with the 'be nicer to Jessica' idea alone did you?"

"You?" Josh asked. "You did that?"

"Over a very long time, and very gradually, yes. We just have to be smart, smarter than I have been. Riley and Angus pretty much mistrust anything I say right now because they think I'm Jessica's patsy, but if we let them think that we're on their side. Agree with whatever they say, but 'suggest' alternatives, without knowing it, they'll change their minds."

"Okay, I'm in." Josh said, still completely impressed with Jim's success already with Riley.

"Scott?" Jim asked.

"I'm in, but what am I going to do about Lizzy Borden over there?" Scott asked, jerking his thumb in Jessica's direction. "I can't let her get away with that."

"Set her straight," Josh said, "just remember that it's your night with her tonight ... you may want it to be a pleasant one."

"Jim?" Scott asked. "She hardly ever gets mad at you ... "

"Hey," Jim said, "she and I were happily cooking away in the kitchen. But, if you really want me to take care of it, I will."

"Never mind," Scott said and strode into the living room. "Jessica ..."

"Yes?" she answered turning to face him. She looked more relaxed than she had five minutes before.

"Since when have you been allowed to speak to me, much less take off on me, like that?"

"I'm sorry Scott Scott. I was angry, that's all." She got up, and moved to him. Scott instinctively moved back. What used to be her head butt move somehow changed into a peck on the lips. "Do you forgive me?"

Scott didn't know what to say. He looked over at Josh and Jim ... they looked surprised too "Yyeeees, :" he finally managed to say, "but don't do it again."

"Dinner almost ready?" Riley asked as he came in the house. "Is there a problem?" 

"Not exactly a problem," Scott replied.  "Well, something has you standing around looking like guppies without any water ... what the hell is it?"

"Jessica got a little out of line with Scott, " Josh said.

"But she has since apologized," Jim said, struck by the change that came over Jessica when Riley had entered the room. 

She'd been relaxed, easily looking any one of the three of them in eyes, but as soon as Riley arrived, she seemed to have shrunk. Her head was lowered, and she was cowering. 

Josh and Scott noticed it too. Scott pulled her to him, she was shaking.

"That's right," he said, "I've forgiven her."

Riley hadn't seemed to notice a change in her demeanor. Josh hoped that Riley wasn't going to mount an inquisition into her behavior. Jessica's fear would probably grow ten-fold.

"Out of line about what?" he asked as he made his way to the kitchen, grabbed a beer from the fridge.

The three men looked at one another. Dare they go so far as to lie? Jim had done that once already, that wasn't a road Scott cared to go down. He didn't know if Josh knew about Jim's lie, but he seemed to be hesitant about what to say next, also.

"About cooking," Scott finally said. 

"Cooking?" Riley asked in surprise.

"I let her grate the cheese," Jim admitted. Hell, if she was going to get into trouble, they may as well do it together.

"Why did you suddenly have this overwhelming need to have Jessica grate cheese?" 

"She'd asked if she could help ... she was bored."

There was silence as Riley stood staring at Jessica. 

"I put the knives away, " Jim added, "I don't think there's much left that she could do."

"Maybe the problem is that you just don't think," Riley answered. "We're talking about substances that we ingest Jim ... no sharp objects are required ...".

"If one of us is with her ... all she can do is cook. She'd feel like she was doing something useful, Riley, she could feel a little more connected ... "

Riley watched Jessica. Her head was buried in Scott's chest, but he could tell she was listening to every word.

"What do you say?" Josh asked. Jim had made some valid points. Maybe if she felt more connected, she'd be happier.

"No. Not right now. Until she proves to me that we can trust her when we're in a position of vulnerability, she can't earn that right. I don't see how she's going to manage that ... " 

He watched for some reaction from Jessica, but she remained very still. He wasn't sure yet what to make of the fact that she'd requested to cook. She always made her requests to Jim, Josh or Scott, so he could not be sure of her demeanor when she made them, but he certainly hoped the men were alert and would be able to pick-up on her intentions. 

Okay, maybe not Scott. While Jimmy was by far Jessica's patsy, Scott had a knack for getting himself into near death experiences. And while Jessica's behavior for the previous weeks had been practically impeccable her obedience heightened his concerns rather than ease them. However, he was willing to ignore them for the time being. As Jim was so eager to point out, if he wanted her to be obedient, he couldn't punish her for it.

"What's going on?" Angus demanded as he slammed the front door behind himself. He stood staring at Jessica cowering in Scott's arms.

"Jessica is getting domestic on us," Riley answered.

"Say what?" 

"I told her that when she proved to us that we could trust her, we'd let her cook."

"Do we have to wait till then to eat?" Angus retorted while heading for the bathroom, his oil covered hands held away from him. "I'm pretty sure we'll all starve."

"Good point. Is dinner ready then?" Riley asked really more interested in eating then debating an issue he couldn't take seriously. "Then let's eat,"  Riley said when Jim nodded.  Everyone served themselves in the kitchen, Jim getting a plate for Jessica, and seated themselves around the table. Jessica paused between Scott and Josh. 

"Baby, sit," she commanded pressing down on Baby's bum and snapping her fingers above Baby's head. Riley choked on his beer, it came out of his nose and sprayed from his mouth. She'd repeated the exact same words and actions he'd done earlier in the day while he'd been training a much older pup.

"Jesus Christ Riley!" Angus yelled as he stared at the beer that was spewed on his plate. Riley coughed as he switched plates with Angus. By the time he'd cleared his lungs and looked back at Jessica, she was sitting in her seat and staring at her plate.

"She's too young yet Jessica," he said. Jessica's head flew-up and there was a look of excitement in her eyes.

"How old does she need to be?" she asked.

"Older than this ... another five or six weeks. You want to be the one to train her, do you?"

"Can I?" Jessica asked, wiggling in her seat, clearly eager.

"You've got 5 or 6 weeks to prove to me that you deserve it. I expect you to be the picture of good behavior until then. Do you think you can handle that?"

Jessica nodded her head.

"You're not off to a very good start," Riley grumbled.

"Yes ... yes, I can handle that," she said while trying to maintain eye contact with Riley.

"Ahuh," Riley said and waved his fork at her, "eat your dinner."

He was stunned. A positive interaction. He and Jessica had another positive interaction. They were few and far between, but they were happening.  Angus watched as Jessica pushed her food around with her fork. The past several weeks had been frustrating for him. She was being incredibly patient with whatever she had planned for her escape. Patient and deceptive. 

Somehow, in the past four weeks she had managed to be on her best behavior ever. Well behaved, and more than just a little weird. The other day he'd found a couple of his Sports Cars Illustrated in Jim's room. When he'd asked Jim how they'd gotten there, he was surprised to find out that Jessica had been reading them. What the hell kind of interest could she possibly have in car magazines? 

Angus wished she'd hurry up and get on with whatever she'd planned... then he could go back to his old routines with her ... and most importantly, he could fuck her again. Six weeks with no sex were killing him. Jessica slurped a noodle into her mouth, and Angus couldn't look at her anymore. Even with sauce splattered all over her chin, she'd had a stirring effect on him. And he couldn't do anything about it. The only way he could keep from beating the shit out of her on a regular basis was to stay away from her all together. 

Fuck, he needed a drink. He kicked back his chair as he moved to the kitchen. "Anyone else for a shot of whiskey?" 

"Later," Riley said. The others declined. Riley pushed his emptied plate away and was surprised to see Jessica lean toward Josh and whisper in his ear.

"Care to share Jessica?" he asked. 

Jessica snapped to attention on her chair. 

"Well?"

"May I be excused?" she asked. 

Excused? Riley thought. 

He and Angus exchanged a look. Jessica never got up from the table before them ... but she had finished her meal, there was little reason that she couldn't.

"Alright," Riley said. 

Angus lingered by the back wall. He leaned back against it and tossed the shot of whiskey to the back of his throat. Jessica didn't so much as pause once Riley gave the okay. 

"Where's your ball Baby?" she asked as she led the pup away from the table, toward the sofa. 

The men sat around the table and watched Jessica roll the ball for the pup. She had to wrestle it away from the dog, Baby didn't have the notion of returning the ball yet. Jessica scooted around on the floor with Baby, and soon they were working their way around the sofa. 

"Give me that, you silly dog!" Jessica said and after Baby gave it up, Jessica rolled it again. The ball bounced off the sofa leg and spun across the floor directly in front of the front door. The puppy scampered after it, slid across the floor, bumping into the butt of Scott's rifle that leant against the wall. Baby bounced off, and ran back for the ball.

"Baby!" Jessica exclaimed scooting after her, right where she was forbidden to go. The men moved in unison. Riley, Scott, Josh and Jim, jumped from their chairs, Angus heaved himself from the wall. Jessica had turned her back to the guns, but the scraping of the barrel of Scott's gun sliding along the wall caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder, saw the gun falling over, reached out and caught the barrel before it hit the floor.

"Jessica freeze!" Scott yelled. 

"Ooops," she muttered. She was about to get up, but when she saw the men coming at her, she froze. "it fell over ..."

"Don't move!" Angus thundered. The men had skidded to a halt a few feet from Jessica. "Put the gun down Jessica, just lay it down!"

Jessica complied.  Tail wagging Baby wriggled over to Jessica. She scooped the puppy up just as Josh, who was nearest to Jessica, pulled her to her feet and back into the living room. Angus picked up the gun, and stood staring at it. The others looked from the gun, to Jessica, to one another. Jessica stood in Josh's grip, kissing the puppy, enduring the ensuing shocked silence.

"Fucking hell," Angus exclaimed the reality of what could have happened sinking in. "Who fucking left this here?" Angus thundered. Scott, ashen faced, raised his hand. "Take this motherfucking thing and put it where it's supposed to be!" Angus ordered, stomping over to Scott and jamming it in Scott's chest.

"Right ... sorry," Scott muttered.

"Josh," Riley said coming around to Josh and Jessica, "I think it's time you uphold your end of the bargain we made."

"Huh?"

"The dog Josh ..." Riley said. He felt a strange sense of anger building in him. Surprisingly he wasn't angry at Jessica, but at Josh.

"Oh, oh right. Jessica, Baby is big enough to go back to the kennel now ..."

"The kennel?" Jessica asked, her face crumpled and she was on the verge of tears.

"She can fend for herself now Jessica, " Riley said, "and before you go getting all worked up about this, just keep in mind that Baby, and Scott," Riley threw Scott a dirty look, "have got you into a lot of trouble. Say goodbye to the dog!"

"But she's still a baby!" Jessica began.

"Jess, you'll see her tomorrow," Jim interrupted impatiently. He couldn't believe she was debating this. Even by his standards she had done wrong ... sort of. It didn't seem as though it had been intentional, but who knew ... Jessica stared at Jim. 

"Oh ..." she exclaimed bringing her hand to her mouth. She looked at the door, the gun rack, Angus repetitively making a fist with his right hand, and smacking it into his left, Scott sitting on the sofa, his hands grasping his head and pulling his hair. The realization hit her ... she'd been somewhere that could earn her a beating.

"I ... it wasn't on purpose, I wasn't thinking ... bye bye Baby!" Josh had picked-up the dog and headed for the door.

"You weren't thinking?" Riley growled. 

Jessica stepped back, right into Jim's arms. 

"Then start thinking now. Come here!" Riley was prepared to repeat himself, reach and grab her, but silently and without looking up, Jessica stepped forward.  "Take her downstairs, Jim." 

"That's it?" Angus asked when Jim returned from escorting Jessica to the basement. He paced around the room.

"We all saw what happened, Angus." Riley said and moved toward Scott, who still sat cradling his head. "Any thoughts on the matter?" he asked him. Scott looked up. 




Lisa Ch. 05a: Only Human



"Christ Scott, are you alright?" Riley asked. His face was so grey, he looked like a corpse. Scott fell back against the sofa. His heart hadn't slowed down yet, and the terror that had gripped him in those few seconds that Jessica had her hands on the rifle, had not dissipated. 

"It was loaded," Scott replied.

"I know," Riley replied, and dropped onto the sofa next to Scott. The men were silent. 

"Do you think getting to the gun had been her intention?" Jim finally asked. 

Angus paused in mid-stride. So now it was all about intention. 

"That requires too much guess work," Angus grumbled. It meant that he'd actually have to think about her. Consider her feelings, her thoughts, her wants. That led to a dangerous place.

"She had her back to the guns," Josh replied. 

Riley nodded. That was the big thing that stuck in his mind ... and although Angus wouldn't admit it, Riley knew that that was the main reason Angus hadn't ignored the protocol they'd implemented and thrashed Jessica.  In his mind's eye, Riley could see Jessica playing with Baby, she hadn't paid any attention to the guns, or for that matter the front door. It wasn't until the gun had fallen that Jessica, reflexively, had reached for the it.

"There were too many of us around," Angus said, "she wouldn't have stood a chance."

"That's never stopped her in the past," Scott replied.

"So, what do you suggest? We just ignore this whole thing?" Angus demanded.

"We haven't ignored anything," Riley said. "The dog is out of the house now ... she has no excuses left ..."

"She'll find another one Riley," Angus grumbled. 

"And when she does, we'll deal with it." 

"That'd be something new ... "Angus muttered. 

"So you think she went for the gun intentionally?" Jim asked Angus.

"I think that it doesn't matter what her intentions were. She was somewhere that she shouldn't have been, end of story."

"Okay, try something new," Jim said, "pretend ... "

"I'm not pretending nothing, " Angus interrupted.

"Just listen, will you!" Jim said, "If you knew for a fact, a fact, that she had had no intentions of running away, it was all an accident, what would you do?"

"It'd never happen," Angus said. He moved toward the kitchen, "I don't need to go down lunatic lane with you because I will never know for a fact that she wasn't trying to get away, and she'll never do anything 'by mistake'. I need another drink ..."

"Scott, Josh, Riley, how bout you? What would you do?" Jim asked. He'd been too close to betraying her, too prepared to believe the worst. He had to have another way to look at this and if he didn't take the others with him, the past month would all be lost. Especially Angus. This was a golden opportunity.  

Deep down inside, there was no way that Angus could really believe that Jessica had tried to go for the gun. Her eyes had been on the dog the whole time, her back to the guns, she hadn't paid any mind to it at all.

"If I knew for a fact that she hadn't planned on trying to blow my brains out ... again?" Scott asked with a shudder.

"Yup,"

"I'd take it as a good sign," Josh interrupted. "I mean, even if it hadn't been planned, the second she had her hands on the gun, she would have used it. She has before."   

"Riley?" Jim asked.

"Grab me one too will you?" Riley called to Angus as Angus downed a shot of whiskey. He ran his hands over his face. 

"Thanks." He said as Angus handed him the shot glass. He downed the drink. The warmth that burned down his gullet made him feel much, much, better.

"Another?" Angus asked.

"Bring the bottle." Riley answered. "So what's your point with this little game Jim? Why are we pretending something that we can't possibly fathom as ever happening?"

"Because we all saw it. We all saw the same thing, and we all saw that she had no intention of going for the gun, and when she had the gun, she had no intention of using it. Like you said, we all would expect her to try to get to the guns, expect her to use one if she had one. She had one, she didn't use it. Maybe our expectations aren't accurate anymore. Nothing can be lost by letting this go, but a whole lot can be gained. Think about it, if you knew for a fact that she hadn't intended anything tonight, what would you do? "

"Okay Jim, you're flapping your lips a lot here. " Riley said, skipping the shot glass and swigging directly from the whiskey bottle. 

What bugged Riley more than anything right then wasn't really what Jessica had done, or not done, but the fact that he actually believed that she was innocent. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. 

But while this should have all been good news, it was disconcerting. Did one innocent act necessarily mean there were more to come? "What exactly are we going to gain from all of this?"

"We may get to enjoy knowing that she didn't live up to our expectations for once." Jim replied.

Riley thought for a moment. That wasn't it at all. For once he saw Jim in a different light. This had nothing to do with Jessica, nor him, Scott or Josh. This was all about Angus. He was trying to get Angus to change his perspective on Jessica. The same thing that Riley himself was trying to do.

"Okay, you want to play this game Jim, let's play. I'm going to 'pretend' that she ended-up near the door with gun in hand, all by mistake. Therefore, I am not going to beat the crap out of her."

"Good," Angus said, "because there's enough crap going on here already. Even if it wasn't intentional, she broke the rules. If you don't want to punish her, fine.  At the very least make sure she knows that she wasn't supposed to be there and if it happens again, we will beat the crap out of her."

"Sounds fair," Riley said. He could tell by the look on Jim's face that it wasn't quite what he was looking for.

"How 'bout you Scott?" Josh asked, "Are you alright? Seeing Jessica with a gun musta brought back some memories real quick." 

"I think I shit my pants ..." Scott said with a laugh. "But I'm pretty sure it was unintentional. I can live with a warning."

"We agree then?" Jim asked.

"But please, for fuck sake Scott, don't lean your gun against the wall like that! What the hell were you thinking?" Riley demanded.

"I wasn't ... I was busy sneaking." Scott replied.

"Sneaking?" Riley and Angus said in unison.

"I saw Jessica in the kitchen, thought she was using a knife. I was thinking so much about how to get it away from her that I completely forgot about the gun."

"Okay, Jessica does not go in the kitchen again until I say so, got it?" Riley asked Jim. Jim nodded. Well, she may not be allowed to cook yet, but at least both Riley and Angus were willing to concede that she hadn't been trying to escape. 

Jessica sat crying on the sofa in the basement. 

Baby was gone. Poor Baby, all on her own in the kennel ... yes, she'd be with other dogs, but no one would be there to cuddle her. Jessica couldn't believe that she had not realized that she was going into the forbidden area. Fear tore through her as she realized that she'd defied Riley and Angus. She was surprised that she was actually sitting downstairs, alone, the way she liked it best and neither Riley nor had beaten her immediately.

She closed her eyes, "Please don't be mad, please don't be mad, please don't be mad ..." she chanted to herself. She heard the deadbolt unlock. Standing she watched Jim come down the stairs.

"Am I in trouble?" Jessica asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. 

She looked so distraught that Jim pulled her into his arms. "No. You'll get a bit of a lecture from Riley, surprise, surprise, but everyone agreed that you didn't try to get to the door or grab the gun on purpose. Did you hear me Jess? Why are you shaking?"

"Angus. He told me what he'd do if I went near the guns. He looked really angry."

"Did you go there on purpose?" Jim asked, rubbing his hands up and down her shaking arms.

"No! Not at all."

"Then you have nothing to worry about." He said. Well, she'd sounded sincere, that was for sure.

"Hey, are you two coming up or what?" Angus called from the top of the stairs. Jessica tensed. Her eyes were the size of saucers as she clutched Jim's shirt in her hands.

"He's never going to believe that I didn't do it on purpose!" she whispered.

"We're coming!" Jim called up. "Jessica, weren't you listening? You're not in trouble. Just be calm all right. Do whatever they say before they even say it, and everything will be fine!" He said. 

Angus watched Jessica emerge from the basement with Jim. The thing he didn't admit to anyone, and that he had a hard time admitting to himself, was that he honestly did believe that Jessica had ended-up holding that gun by mistake. She shouldn't have been there to begin with, true, but he could see that it wasn't intentional. For the first time ever he could honestly say that it was not likely planned by Jessica. He didn't know what to do with that. Jessica hesitated behind Jim.

"Jessica come ... " Riley began but Jessica stepped out from behind Jim and head down, took a couple of steps forward. 

"Closer ..." Jim whispered over Jessica's shoulder. Jessica took another step and stopped. 

"Let's see if you can do this without Jim's help," Riley said giving Jim a dirty look. Just how much was Jim coaching her? Was all of this sudden obedience the result of Jim's misguided belief that she needed new ideas on how to lull them into a false sense security. 

"Come here." Riley ordered.

Jessica hesitated for a moment, and then took the final several steps to stand directly in front of Riley. She stood staring at the floor. Riley wondered how long it would be before she decided to look at him. He pointed at Jim and then held his finger to his lips. The silence lasted so long Jessica ventured to look up. The look on Riley's face made her look down again. 

"Well, you almost got it," Riley said quietly.  "Look at me when I'm speaking to you." 

Jessica raised her face. She tried hard to keep her eyes trained on Riley, but they looked everywhere but at him. Angus grunted and Riley knew it was his way of pointing out to Riley that Jessica's response was yet another example of the behavior Angus found suspicious. 

Riley could see what was freaking Angus out. There was no hatred or anger on Jessica face. The past couple of months had been much calmer with Jessica, more pleasant, but the lack of anger on Jessica's part was proving to be difficult to adjust to. A chill went down Riley's spine. 

Not only were the past couple of months calmer but they were incident free. Now, suddenly, Jessica found herself with access to a gun. Instinctively he felt that something seemed amiss, but yet, he honestly couldn't believe that the gun incident was planned by Jessica in any way. Even not planned, she had not taken advantage of the situation, and that was certainly not Jessica's style. 

Jessica had dropped her head again. Riley grasped her chin in his hand and raised it until she had no choice but to look at him. 

"You broke a couple of rules tonight Jessica. Important rules. Do you have anything to say about that?"

"I'm sorry," Jessica whispered.

"Do that again, and you'll really be sorry." Angus muttered. Jessica instinctively tried to lower her head again. 

"Ah, ah, ah," Riley said keeping her chin tilted, "Angus is right, if this happens again we will not take distraction by the dog as an acceptable excuse. Got it?"

"Yes," Jessica said softly. 

"Pardon?"

"Yes, " Jessica repeated, barely increasing her volume.

"Alright then ... " Riley said, releasing her chin. "Scott, are you going to be okay tonight?"

Scott blinked at the mention of his name. His heart hadn't stopped pounding yet. He looked at his watch. Ten o'clock already. 

"If you'd rather, " Josh interrupted, "you could switch tonight with me. Give yourself some time to calm down." Josh felt like crap about taking Baby away from Jessica. He had this overwhelming feeling that she hated his guts now, and he couldn't stand the idea of her going to bed without him having the opportunity to apologize. 

Scott paused for a moment. He did feel a little shaky and it was her time of the month ... it wasn't like he'd get any tonight anyway ... but he couldn't see himself giving up a night with Jessica willingly. 

"Thanks, but I'm fine. Let's go Jessica."

Jessica moved from man to man, kissing them goodnight, and then next to Scott, no prompting necessary. 

"We shouldn't have let her get off so easy." Angus said after Scott and Jessica disappeared to Scott's bedroom but he didn't feel the anger that he knew he should. 

Damn it, he wished he were in Scott's place. Not that he would touch her ... he hadn't in weeks but he needed her alone so he could satisfy himself she hadn't been planning an escape. "I'll be outside!" he said gruffly and headed for the door. Damn her ... proof of innocence aside, he wanted to touch her. He was going soft ... it was hard to keep his emotional distance when he couldn't brutalize her at will. These days, he was better off as far away from her as possible.

As soon as Scott's bedroom door closed, Jessica broke into tears and flung herself onto the bed with a wail, burying her head in her arms. 

"What's wrong Jessica?" Scott asked. Was it him, or had she just been melodramatic? 

"Poor Baby! All alone in the barn ..." she sniffed.

"She's fine," Scott said sitting next to her and resting his hand on her arm. Jessica raising a gun and pulling the trigger flashed through his mind. Fear gripped him. 'Angus is right,' Scott thought as he pulled his hand away from Jessica. 'She's dangerous." 

"Do you really think so?" Jessica asked sitting up, tears streaming down her face. She looked so small, so sincere, so vulnerable. He felt a pull in his loin, and instantly the clarity with which he'd had the revelation, began to fade. They were taming her, in many ways. His nights with her kept getting better and better. She was an animal in bed. She'd turned into quite the accomplished sex kitten. 

"Sure," he said putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him, "we'll go see her tomorrow. She's probably more than happy to have other dogs to play with."

"It wasn't really her fault ... we were just playing ..." Jessica said while laying her head on Scott's shoulder.

"No, it's not her fault. You're just lucky that neither Riley or Angus focused on whose fault it really is ..." Did she know that he'd messed up in a big way?

"I didn't do it on purpose either!" Jessica said indignantly.

"I never said you did ... I'm just suggesting that you take care not to make that mistake again."

"Do you think Riley will let me bring Baby back?"

"No, and don't push your luck. Baby had to go back eventually anyway. "

"Hmmm," Jessica huffed. "She's still a baby ... she had a while to go before she had to go back!"

"Well, if you feel so strongly about it, why don't you go back out there and bring it up with Riley. I'm sure he'd be very interested in your opinion."

Jessica shrank back on the bed. 

"I thought so," Scott said. He looked at Jessica and memories of their nights together flashed through his mind. He'd picked up more sex toys and props and Jessica'd had little trouble using them. 

They had incorporated role playing into their nights together. They'd done all the ones Scott had listed previously, the stranger sex in the movie theater, the lifeguard, police officer, and several others and had just recently been moving into more of the sexual fetish arena. 

While the role playing was bringing out Jessica's sexual side, Scott was amazed at how much he was enjoying it too. He'd never done it before. All of his other sexual encounters, and there were many, were passionate and enjoyable but they were nothing more than regular encounters between a man and a woman. But these were much more and Scott was surprised to find he enjoyed forcing Jessica to orgasm over and over until she begged him to stop. 

She seemed to like it too, in fact he often found her wet and ready for him and they'd gotten into the habit of starting their night off with that to get the edge off and then move to role play. But given what had just happened, with the gun, and the fact that he'd practically shit his pants, he wasn't sure that he was in the mood for that tonight. Even the fact that she was going down on him on a regular basis now ... and pretty darn good at it too, couldn't quite get him past his fear. 

Despite the sadness she felt about Baby, she couldn't deny the ache that was growing between her legs. Scott always looked so hungry for her and she had come to enjoy and look forward to orgasming so many times her legs and body shook and twitched. Jessica let her legs fall open. She was fully dressed, but that didn't matter. She could see Scott's eyes dilate as they stared at her crotch.

"Do you want to touch me?" Jessica asked. 

Scott nodded. His earlier fear forgotten. "But aren't you on the rag?"

"Not yet." Jessica said, glad that she wasn't, and that she didn't hurt yet either. She needed to cum as badly as Scott did.

Scott licked his lips and moved his hand toward her pelvis. Jessica pushed his hand away.

"If you want to touch me here," Jessica said rubbing her hand over her pulsating vagina, "You'll have to earn it."

"Earn it?" Scott asked. God his cock was so hard it hurt trapped in his pants. 

Jessica looked so hot lying on the bed, her hair fanned out around her, obviously as horny as he was, that he groaned with need when she nodded and licked her lips.

"Pull off my socks," Jessica commanded, holding her foot in front of him. Scott did and then the sock from her other foot also.

"If you want to touch me tonight you're going to have to lick my toes clean. All ten of them, thoroughly. And you're going to have to do it so well that I have an orgasm. If you don't, there will be no pussy tonight."

Scott caught his breath. She had to be kidding, her toes? How the hell could he bring her to orgasm by licking her toes.

"That's impossible Jess ..." 

"Lick ...." Jessica interrupted in a breathless voice. She'd read about this in one of the fetish magazines and couldn't fathom how toe licking could make a woman orgasm. But now, the way she felt, the way Scott looked, she wanted her toes in his mouth. She held her foot in front of his face and wiggled her toes. 

Scott took her foot in his hand and brought her big toe to his mouth. And he began to lick, suck, nibble. It came naturally, and as he moved from one toe to the next, Jessica began to pant. Every suck sent an electric pulse straight to her pussy and she began to rock her pelvis. By the time he'd reached her baby toe, Jessica cried out in pleasure. She watched Scott as he switched feet. She didn't think she'd orgasm again, but by the time Scott had reached her middle toe, she climaxed. 

Scott was desperate now to feel her, to taste her pussy. It would without doubt taste better than her toes. He reached again for her crotch but stopped himself mid-reach. What if she made him lick her toes again. He couldn't handle that.

"Can I touch your pussy now?" he asked.

Jessica shook her head and in a breathless voice she said, "Tell me what you're going to do to me ... in detail."

Scott sat back on his haunches and looked at her. She was clothed but he could picture her without her clothes on.

"I'd start off by running my hands along your thighs. Pushing them apart, opening you up, so I could see ... everything." He began in a low, sensual, growl. He almost came right there as he pictured her pink flesh opening up to him. "I'd stroke, around the outside of your pussy, on the lips. Gently, moving slowly, closer to the opening ..." 

Jessica arched. "And then what?" she encouraged when Scott hesitated. 




Lisa Ch. 05b: Only Human cont



Continued from chapter 5a due to length

********************************************

One week later

Josh couldn't believe his luck. 

Angus and Riley had been summoned to a meeting with the others in the clan.  Part of him wished that they were called away more often, but this time they had some additional errands and work to do. They'd be gone for a week. Longer than they'd ever been gone before. That was just fine with him. Not that he begrudged them their nights with Jessica, but it got him more time with her. And tonight he had a particular mission. 

It was a week since the saw incident with Angus, and Jessica seemed a different person.

Josh had been reading the magazines and books that Scott had lent him. And he'd been trying to get some information out of Scott. Even though Scott hadn't been willing to divulge too many specifics, his conversation with Scott earlier in the day confirmed for Josh that Jessica had not only been a willing participant in sex with Scott, but an active one. And from the sounds of it, a far more active than she ever was with him. 

This was the night that Josh planned to remedy that. Josh closed the bedroom door and hung back as Jessica moved to the bed and dropping the towel began to put on her pajamas. Jessica looked back at Josh, a questioning look on her face. Normally Josh was quick to get ready for bed. In a hurry to read comic books, or show Jessica the latest work he'd done on his comic book. Josh nodded toward the end table where Jessica's comics usually lay. Jessica moved over to the table and stood staring down at the magazine that lay open on the table. She picked it up.

"I want to write some of that into the story of Princess acisseJ and Prince aushoJ ... but I want it to be something Princess acisseJ wants to do. Something Princess ... what the fuck ... something you want to do Jessica." Josh moved to where Jessica was still looking at the magazine. There was a picture of a woman being eaten out by a man who was pulling her breast with one hand and inserting his thumb in her rectum with the other. Josh slid one hand under Jessica's shirt, and found her breast. He slid his other hand down the front of her pants.

"Will you do that Jessica? Will you part your legs for me? Can I eat you out while pulling your nipple and sticking my thumb up your ass?"

Jessica shivered with pleasure as Josh's fingers parted her lips and began to stroke. She wasn't sure about the thumb part ... Angus liked to enter her in the bum and it hurt, it really hurt. But then, Josh wasn't Angus. Jessica turned and pushed Josh back.

Reluctantly he stepped back and for a moment he was afraid she'd say no. But instead Jessica moved to the bed. Turning she looked at Josh and bit her lip, as if she were deciding something ... but it was sexy. 

Jessica felt desire growing. She pulled off her shirt and stood looking at Josh. The look on his face as he stared at her, drool practically running down his chin, made the thought of Josh eating her out very appealing. As if someone had flipped a switch inside her, she wanted him. Really wanted him. Jessica felt a shiver of desire run through her body as she deliberately began to pull on her nipples. She pulled them until they were erect. Josh thought he was going to cum right there. He reached out to take a nipple. But Jessica moved back, out of his reach. She climbed on the bed and removed her pants, and then she lay back and very slowly, and very deliberately , opened her legs. She watched Josh as he advanced on her. As his mouth worked its way around her pussy, Jessica ran her fingers through his hair.

"Lower ... " she ordered, pushing his head lower and tilting her pelvis up. 

She tasted so good ... her juices smelled and tasted so good ... Josh was so concentrated on her clitoris that he almost forgot about her ass. Alternating between nipping her clit and sucking it, he parted her bum cheeks, found her anus and began to press his thumb into it. Jessica arched and tried to move away. Josh pulled her closer and held her tight around her waist. And inserting his forefinger in her vagina he began to press his thumb into her anus more forcefully. Somehow the sensation from his thumb, mixed with his teeth working on her clitoris brought on wave upon wave of pleasure.

"Holy shit!" Josh exclaimed coming up from between her legs, face drenched. "I can't believe it, you just ... just ..."

"Scott calls it geysering" Jessica said smiling down at him with a lazy, satisfied, look on her face.

"Fucking right!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

"My turn!" Jessica said sitting up. Planting her hands on Josh's chest, she pushed him back onto the bed. 

She pulled his pants off and then licked her way up his thighs.

"Oh my God!" Josh exclaimed as she licked his testicles and then inserted his whole cock into her mouth and took it down her throat. 

"Hold on!" Josh exclaimed and pushed Jessica on the bed and then kneeling with his knees on either side of her head he inserted his cock in her mouth and then parting her legs, began to eat her out again. He thrust back and forth into her mouth, harder and harder. The harder he thrust, the harder it was for Jessica to protect his shaft from her teeth. But he didn't care, he liked the occasional scrapes. He nipped her and chewed and licked until she began to arch beneath him ... and then he came. As he spilled into her mouth he lifted his lips just long enough to say, "swallow Jess, swallow. All of it ..." and he knew she was swallowing ... he could feel her. 

Spent, Josh turned around and crawled up to lay next to Jessica. He grabbed his discarded shirt and wiped his face. "Would I be safe in assuming that you enjoyed that?" he asked.

"Mhmmm ..." Jessica mumbled with a giggle. When Josh had started to insert his thumb in her anus, Jessica was ready for the same pain that she experienced with Angus. But, a thumb was quite different than a penis, and Josh had managed to make it feel good. She was pleasantly surprised.  He pulled her into his arms and rubbed his hand up and down her arm, his foot along her leg. Gently, slowly.

"You've never went off like that before. I guess you weren't getting off like I thought you were."

Jessica shook her head.

"Sorry about that." Josh said.

"It's okay."

"So, do you think Princess Acissej would enjoy it too?"

"Oh I'm certain of it." Jessica whispered, closing her eyes and dozing off.

Josh kissed her on the forehead and then gently disentangled himself from Jessica and got out of bed. Grabbing a pillow and blanket he set himself up on the floor. He stared at the ceiling in the dark and smiled. That was some sex. The best in his life. He decided he'd ask Scott for some more of his magazines and books. Things were looking up.



The next morning they sat around the table, enjoying a coffee. Jim, Josh and Scott smiling so much they felt like their faces would split ... Jessica looking from one to the other wondering what she'd missed. It was obvious that she was missing the point. With no Riley or Angus around to ruin the relaxed mood, and the three of them getting their rocks off regularly. The men were some happy. 

"Is everything okay?" Jessica asked when all three just kept looking at her.

"Just great." Jim said.

"Just fucking great," Scott said wagging his tongue at Jessica and winking. Jessica finally got it and blushed.

"So what's the plan for today? Do you want to make breakfast today Jess? As our official cook," Scott asked.

"Can I?" Jessica asked bouncing up and down in her chair. "Can I make eggs?"

The men looked at each other and shrugged, "Sure," they said in unison. Jessica rushed to the kitchen. 

"We have some chores to do outside," Jim said as Jessica searched through the fridge for eggs. Finding them she began to search through the cupboards for a frying pan. "Do you want to come along and help?"

Josh and Scott did a double take. Jim mouthed 'come on!' while Jessica's back was still turned.

"Can I really?" Jessica asked pausing in the kitchen, eggs in one hand, frying pan dangling in the other.

"Sure." Jim said. "I'll be mucking out the horse stalls. Feel up to that?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jessica exclaimed.

"All right then. Finish up with those eggs and we'll get to it."

"How are we going to explain that to Riley and Angus?" Scott asked in a low tone when Jessica had turned her back.

"We'll think of something when it comes up. If it doesn't, well then that's not a bad thing ...."

Scott and Josh looked at each other. "I guess what they don't know won't hurt them ..." Josh said.

Half an hour later Jessica stood at the sink cleaning the dishes. Scott was next to her, drying.

"Hey, did we win anything last night?" Jim asked from the table where he and Josh sat finishing their coffees.

"We came out even ... " Scott answered.

"Were you in a lottery?" Jessica asked.

"Not exactly." Scott answered. "I went to the track ... horse track ... " he clarified when Jessica's expression went blank. "We won some and we lost some ... came out even."

"Is that where you go, when you go out?" Jessica asked.

"Usually."

"Did you race one of your horses?"

"I wish!" Scott said with a laugh. "No I was just out there betting."

"Why aren't you racing the horses ... you obviously want to?"

"Yeah, well. What you want to do and what you can do are two different things." 

Jessica's eyes snapped up when Scott spoke. He'd sounded dejected.

"Why can't you race the horses? Won't Riley let you?"

"Well, Riley wouldn't like it much, that's for sure. Way too public ... but I'm just too heavy for a horse to run fast enough to race ... muscle heavy, not fat heavy." Scott added with a laugh when Jessica looked him up and down. 

"That's too bad." Jessica said, handing Scott the last of the dishes. "Why don't you just train the horses then ... get someone else to ride?" 

"Sounds easy huh? But you need someone to ride the horses while they train. Back to the same problem." Scott said, putting the dishes away.

"Oh, okay ... " Jessica said in a tone that indicated that she wasn't so sure his answer made sense. 

"What?" Scott asked, "can you see some poor horse running hell bent on leather with me on his back? Or any of us for that matter? What's that look for?" he asked when Jessica looked at him like he was stupid. 

Jessica scanned over to Jim and Josh and shrugged when their expressions were as askance as Scott's.

"There are other people in the world Scott. Your options aren't just limited to you, Jim, Josh, Angus or Riley. Surely you could find someone light enough to ride, and you have all the horses you could possibly need ... what's wrong?" Jessica asked when Scott's expression changed to something she couldn't decipher.

"It's not that easy," Jim said when Scott hadn't answered and just sat stood staring at Jessica. 

"It's not?" Jessica asked, but when Scott's expression intensified and she noticed that Josh was looking at her in an equally intense yet unrecognizable way, she clamped her lips shut.

Jim chuckled as he looked from Scott to Josh. "It's okay Jessica," he said, "I think this is the first time Scott and Josh get to see you like I see you, uncensored."

"Is that bad?" Jessica asked.

"No," Jim said while elbowing Josh. "It may just take a little getting used to. Right Scott? Right Josh?" Jim asked emphasizing the names when he spoke and gesturing with his hands palms up in a silent 'get a grip'.

"Right." Scott said, trying to sound convincing when in fact he felt as if he'd just had a conversation with a complete stranger. Never before had Jessica spoken to him like that. It was as if they'd been friends for years and she was berating his stupidity. She'd been more relaxed with him lately but apparently there was another level he had just reached. He liked it, but he felt off balance, like the earth had shifted under his feet. Clearly things weren't done evolving with Jessica yet and he wasn't sure how he felt about her being so candid about his faults.

"So, is that your way of saying that Scott isn't really doing everything he could be doing to race?" Josh asked. He'd often thought the same thing, but never bothered to say it. It didn't seem so cut and dry from his point of view given their circumstances ... but clearly from an outsiders point of view, and even Jessica's, it was simple. 

"Face it Scott, if you really wanted to race, you'd find a way to do it." Jessica said, moving into Scott's arms when he looked taken aback. "When there's a will there's a way?" she asked, and then buried her face in his chest and hugged him. "All I'm saying is if you really want to train race horses, you can find a way to do it. You'd be great at it." She looked up at him. "Or, are you afraid that you wouldn't be?"

Scott felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. No one had ever spoken to him like that. He didn't know if he should be happy about it or miffed. He wished he was alone with Jessica. He had an overwhelming urge to dominate her. Not violently, but sexually. 

"Oh," Jessica exclaimed. Scott's expression sent a jolt of pleasure shooting through her. She looked hesitantly from Jim to Josh and then back at Scott. 

"Here?" she whispered.

Scott shook his head but purposely brought his hands up to brush against her breasts. "Later," he said in a voice so guttural that he had to clear his throat. 

"I think we'd better get on with our work." Jim said. 

Jessica's response to Scott was so obvious. Josh had been shifting in his seat. Jim didn't know how Scott was able to resist dragging her off to his room, but he was afraid that left to his own devices, Josh would take Scott's place. Or maybe he himself would "rise" to the occasion.

Jim shook his head. God if that happened everything would deteriorate into a sex fest ... dragging Jessica to each of their respective bedrooms for sex at any time of the day was something that should never ... could never happen. If it did, Jim couldn't see how they'd ever be able to pull themselves back into something resembling a normal life. 

Obviously Josh had been thinking along the same lines because as soon as Jim had spoken, Josh had jumped to his feet. "Good idea," he said and headed for the door. He stood in the doorway and looked back at Jessica. 

"Coming?"

"Yeah!" Jessica exclaimed. 

The excitement of helping outside seemed to trump any sexual desire she may have had. She moved away from Scott and strode to the door, leaving Scott standing stock still, staring into the space where she'd been standing. He clenched his eyes as the pain of pent up drive seized his balls.

"Are you alright man?" Jim asked when Josh and Jessica had stepped out onto porch.

"No. How does she do that? Just turn it off like that?"

"I don't know. But you may want to take a cold shower ... you look like you sucked on a lemon." Jim chuckled as he got up and headed for the door also.

"Ha, ha." Scott said as he shuffled toward the bathroom, "One day this will happen to you and then we'll see who's laughing ... "

Jim laughed again as he left the house. He had little doubt that it would ... but he intended to be somewhere that he could actually do something about it.  

At the end of the day, Jessica was exhausted, and loved it. She had helped Jim, Josh and Scott with every chore they had. She hadn't done that much physical exercise in years not even on the universal gym in the basement. As she was stripping her clothes off in the bathroom, looking forward to a hot shower, she noticed Scott looking her over quite thoroughly ... with an even more intense expression than usual. Subconsciously Jessica wrapped her arms around herself, covering her breasts.

Scott could barely move his eyes from the places that bits of flesh were exposed behind Jessica's makeshift cover. The day had been excruciating for Scott. First the way she'd spoken so freely to him, but then she'd been so free around him, Jim and Josh all day. It was refreshing but at the same time it enflamed something primal in Scott that he only barely knew was there. The role playing they'd been doing being the first indicator of his tendency to want to dominate Jessica. But now, now after a full day of her carefree ways he just needed to control her sexually. God his cock was straining against his pants ... and he knew what he wanted to do to her. A water torture porno mag had planted the seed but his own imagination was going to bring his need to fruition.  He finally raised his eyes and noticed that Jessica was watching him with obvious curiosity.  

"Am I in trouble?" She asked with caution, unsure if she should be afraid. Scott hadn't tried to shower with you her since she'd won showering alone at cards. And there was something about Scott's expression that she couldn't decipher ... something she'd never seen before.

Scott shook his head. "Not in trouble." Scott said and took a step forward. "I just think sometimes you may get a little excited about things ... a little, out of control maybe. I just want to help you relax ... and maybe learn a little control ..." he said lowering his eyes to the tuft of hair between her legs. Her arms still rested on her breasts but the pussy was just there. 

A shock of pleasure jolted through Jessica as Scott's eyes bore into her. And when he licked his lips, she actually came, without him even touching her. Scott inhaled deeply and forced his eyes to Jessica's face. 

"I can smell you." He said.

"You can?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes," Scott grunted, "part your legs a little more ... please ..." Jessica widened her stance, and Scott inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the smell.

Jessica shivered, pleasure mounting but completely unsure where Scott was going with this. Scott opened his eyes and leveled them on Jessica. He held her gaze, not blinking.

"We're going to take a bath together. A special bath ...". Scott removed his clothes.  He stepped closer to her and taking her buttocks pulled her against him.

"Let's get in the tub. You'll be between my legs in the front."

Jessica nodded but before they moved to the tub Scott smiled and brought his right hand between them, between her legs and inserted two of his fingers in her pussy, and caressed her clitoris with his thumb. Jessica came again.

"My, my G, " Scott said bringing his wet hand up. "You're ready to go ... aren't you?" he asked and proceeded to stick one of this fingers in his mouth and lick it off. 

"Maybe you'd be interested in tasting yourself?" He said bringing the second finger to Jessica's mouth and inserting it between her lips. 

"Suck ..." he said as Jessica licked his finger. "You taste good, don't you?" he asked. Jessica nodded. It was ... different. She was not sure that she enjoyed the flavor as much as Scott seemed to ... but just the fact that she was tasting herself ... she practically came again. Removing his finger from her mouth, Scott turned Jessica toward the tub. His hands on her hips, he led her to it. Once in the tub, Jessica sat in the front, Scott behind her, his legs bent on either side of her.

"Lean back," Scott said in a low voice. Jessica did. "Spread your legs, wide. I want to see the meat of your pussy ..."

Jessica brought her knees up and spread her legs. Scott ran his hand down her pelvis and between the lips of her pussy, using his fingers to spread her lips open.

"That's it ..." he murmured. "Now, the bath will go like this ... I'm going to start the water running at a certain temperature. Then I will push your pussy under it, holding you in place." He began to stroke her clitoris as he spoke, his hot breath on her neck. With the other hand he turned the hot water on.

"You'll tell me if the water is too hot. Look at that steam Jess ... do you think that would be too hot?"




Lisa Ch. 05b: Only Human cont



Jessica came so hard ... the situation, his tone, his hard cock pressing into her back ... she couldn't believe how horny she was. He chuckled in a low, sexy way and ran his fingers over her wet pulsating meat ... "Keep cumming baby ..." he murmured in her ear, "It should make this little lesson even more enjoyable to teach to you." Shivers of pleasure rolled over her and she moaned as he pumped a finger into her hungry pussy hole. "As I was saying, as I hold your pussy under the water it's up to you to tell me if it's too hot. If you don't find it too hot, I'll pull you out, turn some of the cold water off, and push you under again. We'll continue like this until you say it's too hot."

He thrust his fingers into her deeper, harder.

"And when you tell me that you find it too hot, I'll feel the water and decide if I agree with your decision. If I do, I will push you under and hold you there until you cum and your legs began to twitch ... believe me they will." Scott said when Jessica glanced up at him. "Just like this ..." he illustrated by finding her clitoris and stroking. Her legs twitched, her clitoris not having recovered from her previous orgasms yet. "It'll be uncomfortable, but still feel good. At that point you'll have two minutes to come again. If you don't, I'll turn on pure hot water and you will stay under it until you can lay still without squirming or your legs twitching. You'll have to do better than that ... " he whispered into her ear as her legs continued to twitch as he continued to rub her clitoris.  "And, of course, if I don't agree with your decision ... then I will also turn on pure hot water and hold you beneath it until you can lay still. And I should add that I want you to beg me to hold you under the water longer. If you don't or if you ask me to pull you out, it'll be even longer."

Scott reached over Jessica and turned on the cold water. The steam dissipated. 

"Don't want to make this too easy do we?" he asked as he turned down the cold water until a slight mist of steam returned. Scott grabbed Jessica behind the knees and pulled her legs apart, and held them in place as he pushed her exposed pussy under the water.

Jessica shifted a little under the water. 

"So, is it too hot?"

"No ..." Jessica replied, in a not too convincing tone.

"Ask me to make the water hotter ... "

"Scott ..."

"The longer you take to ask me Jessica, the longer you'll be under the water."

"Please, please make the water hotter ..." Jessica said.

Scott pulled her out, adjusted the water temperature.

"And what are you going to ask me now?" he asked.

"Please put me under the water?"

"Please put your what under the water?"

"Please put my ... vagin ..."

"No, the other word, the word that I like ..."

Jessica looked back at him, completely at a loss for what he could mean. Scott pulled on her nipple with his right hand as he slid his left hand to her pussy and caressed.

"Pussy Jessica, I call it a pussy. Ask again ... properly ..."

"Please put my pussy under the water," Jessica asked. 

"Perfect ..." Scott said giving her nipple a final pinch as he took her by her knees again and pushed her under the water. This time the water was considerably hotter, and that combined with the steady pressure of the running water caused Jessica to orgasm. And after the pleasure subsided, the pressure from the water falling on her vagina caused her legs to twitch uncontrollably. 

"That's it ..." Scott muttered. Jessica felt the hardness of his cock on her back and then it softened, replaced by a warm wetness. Scott panted behind her. "That twitching just drives me ..."

"Scott, please ..." 

"Control your legs Jessica, and start concentrating on cumming. By my calculation you have a minute and a half left to orgasm before I turn on pure hot water."  

Jessica began to concentrate on keeping legs still, and between the frustration of not being able to, the pressure of the water, and the fear of having pure hot water pouring on her vagina, Jessica came, her head tilting back as the pleasure consumed her.

Scott chuckled as he kissed her forehead. Her eyes were closed, her head to one side. Bliss evident in her expression.

"What do you need to ask now," he whispered into her ear.

Drowsily Jessica opened her eyes. 

"Huh? Keep going?" she asked.

"Mhmmm. You didn't believe me when I said you'd be having multiple orgasms ... did you?"

Jessica shook her head.

"You have ten seconds to ask Jessica or I turn on the hot water ..."

"Please make the water hotter ..." Jessica asked . Scott pulled her out and turned down the cold water, and up the hot. Jessica's head had lolled from side to side, immense relaxation consuming her. But it snapped to attention when Scott chuckled and said, "look at that steam ... that water looks hot ... thirty seconds Jessica ..."

"Please put my pussy under the water." Jessica said with more calm than she felt. The water was hot and caused her to buck.

"Is it too hot Jessica?" Scott asked, pulling her legs even further apart. Jessica's first thought was yes, but then she realized that Scott would never think the water too hot. Jessica shook her head.

"No, please make the water hotter." She said hoping that Scott would pull her out quickly. But then she came suddenly, and her legs twitched. Even more violently than the first time.

"That one doesn't count ... Two minutes to cum again Jessica ... whoa, whoa, you have to control your legs better than that ..." he muttered quietly into her ear.

Jessica tried so hard to control her legs, to reach orgasm, but it just wasn't working.

"Ten, nine, eight ..." Scott began to count the last ten seconds. When he got to one, he reached up and turned the cold water down considerably and turned up the hot.

Jessica squirmed a little but surprisingly, it didn't hurt so much as it stimulated.

"Hold still, and cum ... cum Jessica or you're going to have boiled pussy meat ..."

"Scott ... "Jessica began convinced that she would not be able to come again, but then suddenly she felt pleasure beginning to radiate from her vagina, up her pelvis, into her legs, and then she exploded. She thrashed her head from side to side and the look on her face caused him to cum also. They lay panting in the tub, and Jessica's legs twitched.

"Scott, I can't ... I can't stop the twitching this time ..."

"Okay ..." he mumbled and leaned over to turn off the water. He brought his hand to her pussy and stroked gently. 

Jessica's legs continued to twitch. He ran his hand up her stomach and Jessica turned on her side, collapsing her head on Scott's chest. He wrapped his arms around her and drifted off to sleep.

"Jess, Scott, " Josh's voice came from behind the bathroom door. "Are you okay? You've been in there forever."

Scott and Jessica woke at the same time.

"Tell him you're okay," Scott whispered, tilting his head toward the door.

"I'm fine," Jessica said, sitting up. "I just took a bath with Scott and it took longer than I thought it would."

"Shhh," Scott said, wincing.

"Really? With Scott eh?" Josh asked.

"I wasn't supposed to tell him that?" Jessica asked.

" No, that's fine." Scott said. "Honesty is the best policy even if you're supposed to be showering and bathing alone... " he mumbled. 

"Scott? Are you okay?" Josh asked with a hint of laugh in his voice.

"Fine, Josh ... thanks." Scott replied, shaking his head. "We'll be out in a minute."

Scott helped Jessica to her feet, and then turned on the shower. As he lathered Jessica up he couldn't help but hug her. Again and again.

"How do you feel down there?" Scott asked, gently stroking the hair between her legs. "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No ... oddly it doesn't." Jessica said, and giggled as he nipped her neck.

"Good," he said as Jessica moved into the shower stream to rinse off. Scott watched and sighed. Now that he got the dominance out of his system he began to reflect on what Jessica had said about the horse racing. Now he could see that she may have had a point. 

He didn't honestly think he was avoiding racing ... but for some reason it never occurred to him to try to get someone outside of clan to ride for him. It wasn't practical, that was for sure ... but it was doable. 

"All done," Jessica said stepping forward and kissing Scott's chest. And she stepped out of the tub. Scott reached for her arm and missed.

"Jessica!" he barked. 

Jessica jumped. "What?" she asked.

"Sorry," Scott said, when he realized that he'd reacted without much thought. Jessica didn't shower with him anymore. She was used to getting out of the shower at will. It was just that for a moment, Scott forgot that. Now his mind raced to cover that fact up. It was bad enough he'd showered with her when she clearly had a shower alone rule. 

"Um, could you get me a towel?" 

"Sure," Jessica said heading to the linen closet. Scott rinsed and got out of the shower quickly. 

"Here you go," Jessica said handing him the towel. 

"Thanks," Scott and caught her by the arm. "Come here." 

Jessica stepped into his embrace. 

"I'm supposed to be making dinner you know." Jessica said as she ran her hands over the hair on his chest. "Jim and Josh are going to starve if we don't get dressed soon."

"Ah, they won't starve. They're pretty plump ... could stand to lose a few pounds ..." 

"Scott ..." Jessica said, shaking her head, "aren't you hungry?"

"I sure am ... " he said, bringing his leg up between hers.

"Poor choice of words ..." she said, "I meant for food Scott, real food."

Scott chuckled. "Should I take that to mean that you are hungry ... for food?"

"Yes," she said, "starving."

"Okay, okay, we'll go." He laughed, letting her go. 

They went to his room and dressed and then headed out to the living room.

"They live," Josh said. "That had to be the longest 'quick' shower ever." But he regretted saying it right away. Jessica turned beet red and escaped to the kitchen. 

"Bro ... " Scott said lifting his hands toward Jessica as she banged around in the kitchen. 

"Sorry Jess, I was trying to razz Scott, not you." Josh said going into the kitchen and turning her to face him.

Jessica smiled and nodded. 

"Maybe," Jim said in an undertone when Josh came back into the living room with him and Scott, "we should limit having sex to the night time."

He swung his eyes to Scott.

"Maybe," Scott agreed, watching Jessica scurry back and forth from the fridge to the counter, to the stove. "It is my night with her ... I didn't honestly think it was going to make headline news. But I guess it's only fair to her, right?"

"Well, I'll try," Josh said, "but I can't promise anything. Sometimes things just happen."

Jim rolled his eyes.

"Hey," Scott said, "you brought out the radio." He waved at the black portable radio that sat on the side table, emitting music quietly in the background.

"Yeah, I thought it'd be fun to have some music. I'm thinking maybe a game of euchre after dinner'd be fun."

"Sounds like a good idea," Josh and Scott agreed.

"Do you need any help?" Jim asked, moving into the kitchen.

"Can you put on some rice?" Jessica asked.

Ten minutes later, the food was on the table. Jessica was seated and Jim was handing Josh and Scott a beer from the fridge.

"It looks great Jess," Jim said coming to the table, "You did a great job cooking and a great job with the chores ..." he was about to take a swig from his beer, just like Scott and Josh were doing when he realized Jessica had nothing to drink. He looked at his bottle and made up his mind. 

"Here Jess," Jim said handing her a new beer he'd grabbed from the fridge, "you deserve a cold one, just like us."

"Jim ..." Scott said, watching Jessica accept the bottle.

"Go ahead, try it," Jim encouraged Jessica when she sniffed the opening. Jessica took a sip and her face contorted. 

"Do you like it?" he asked with a laugh.

"No!" Jessica replied and pushed the bottle away from her on the table. "That's vile!"

Despite themselves, Scott and Josh chuckled.

"It takes some getting used to." Jim agreed. "How 'bout some wine then ... we have some white." 

"Are you out of your mind?" Scott asked quietly, following Jim into the kitchen. 

"Not that I know of," Jim said, opening the bottle and finding a glass.

"Yes you are. You can't give her alcohol? What if she tells Riley?"

Jim shrugged. He could see Josh eyeing him from the table but Jessica wasn't paying much attention. 

"Things won't change if we don't keep moving forward. If she tells Riley, so be it. We'll deal with it. I mean, you wouldn't be suggesting that we tell her to not tell Riley?"

"No. I'd be suggesting not giving her any wine."

"She's not going to get trashed Scott. But she worked hard, just like we did. What's wrong with her kicking back with a drink? Just like we are."

"Where's that wine?" Josh asked from the table. "The foods getting cold."

"Do you want to give it to her, or should I?" Jim asked holding the glass out. "Listen," Jim whispered, leaning closer to Scott when all Scott had done was stare at the glass. "This is the opportunity we've needed. She's been different ... you have to admit that. And I for one want it to go all the way. I want a relationship with her Scott and a relationship means that Jessica can help out, she feels free to speak her mind. We have to change the way we deal with her. If she can change then we have to too. And if we want her to change more, then we have to make it possible. Trust me on this, will you?"

Scott took a deep breath. 

"Jesus Christ Jim, you're going to get all of our asses kicked. And in case you've gone senile as well as insane, the person whose going to get their ass kicked the most is Jessica. This is more dangerous for her than us."

"Guys," Josh said coming up behind them. "Jim's right, I'm more than willing to get my ass kicked, and I think Jessica would be willing to get her ass kicked, must move forward, now give me the damn wine, and let's eat!" He grabbed the wine from Jim and spun around, marching back to the table.

"Here you go Jess," Josh said, "I think you'll find this tastes way better than beer."

Jessica took a sip and nodded.  

"This is delicious," Scott said as they ate. 

"Thanks," Jessica said.

"Mmmhhmm" Josh and Jim mumbled in agreement. Unable to stop shoveling the food in their mouths.

"You guys want some coffee?" Jim asked, as Jessica began to clear the table. 

"Sure."

"It's okay Jess," Jim said standing and taking the plates from her hand. "You cooked, we'll clean-up. Why don't you go relax on the sofa ... we'll play some euchre after, 'k?"

"Okay," Jessica said, moving to the sofa, taking her wine with her.

"I think we may need some coffee for Jessica," Scott said. He'd been watching her for the past twenty minutes as he was drying the dishes that Jim washed. He nodded to the living room as he handed Josh the dry dish to put away. Jessica had made herself comfortable on the sofa, wine glass in hand, but she was sinking lower on the sofa as her eyes began to close.

"Shit!" Josh said moving to the sofa, "Here Jess, better give that to me ..." He said taking the wine glass from her hands.

"Hey, how about that euchre!" Scott said, clapping his hands and rousing Jessica as she was about to fall to sleep. 

He was still holding out hope for some good sex tonight but given all the work she'd done today, plus the wine, he was beginning to resign himself to that not happening. But there was always the chance that she'd perk up if they played euchre.

Jessica forced herself to sit up.

"Hey, what d'ya say to mixing the teams up a little this time?" Scott asked.

"What do you suggest?" Jim asked.

"Why don't we see who out of Josh and I get the highest card. Whoever gets the highest card, is Jessica's partner. 

"Josh?" Jim asked. 

"Sounds fair," Josh said. So Jim turned a King up for Scott, and then an ace for Josh.

"What are we playing for?" Josh asked as he moved to sit opposite Jessica.

"Fun?" Jessica asked when all three men looked at her for an answer.

"Fun is a given." Jim said while he shuffled the deck of cards, "But what do you want to bet for?" 

"Nothing really," Jessica said.

"Nothing?" Scott asked.

"I can't think of anything."

"Really?" Josh asked, "Nothing at all?"

"I'm sure you can come up with something Jess." Jim said as he dealt out the cards.

"The only thing I can think of, I don't think you can give me."

"Try us ... " Scott said feeling insulted, and his tone reflected it. But when Jessica looked at him, with an expression somewhere between defiance and smugness he had the sudden fear that she was going to ask to go home.

"Okay. I want to go horseback riding ... and not just in some tiny corral ... real horseback riding."

The men sat in silence. 

Scott's sense of relief was short lived. While not as devastating as if she'd asked to go home, Jessica's request definitely topped showering alone in magnitude of difficulty. 

Jessica had picked up her hand and was organizing it. She held no expectation that she would get what she wanted so she was surprised when she looked up to see that the men seemed to be seriously considering her request. 

"Okay," Scott said, eyeing Jessica as she took a sip of her wine. They had already gone down a dangerous path that day, letting Jessica help with the chores, giving her alcohol, how would horseback riding make things any worse? 

"But if Jim and I win, I want to begin showering with you again." He may as well get something good out of this. Memories of their earlier sex play in the bathroom brought on an erection that he had a hard time hiding from Jim and Josh. From the way Jessica crossed her legs and smiled he could tell she was remembering as well.  

"Okay?"

Jessica nodded. She had little doubt that she and Josh would win the game. She had no intention of losing the opportunity to horseback ride.

"Jim?" Scott asked.

Jim leaned back and observed Jessica. Having always been her partner in the past he'd never had the chance to win anything from her. But he knew what he wanted. To know her better. To know something personal about her. 

"If Scott and I win, I want Jessica to tell us a secret."

"A secret?" Jessica croaked, taken by surprise. 

"What kind of secrets can Jessica possibly have?" Scott asked, but as Jessica's expression went from disbelieving to somewhat concerned he looked at her hard. 

"Yes Jessica," Josh asked also noticing the subtle change in her expression. He too pinned her down with his stare. 

Jessica looked back and forth between them, she had no idea what to say.

"Guys," Jim said shaking his head, "I wasn't implying that Jessica was keeping something from us. Everyone has something private that they keep to themselves. I want Jessica to share something personal and private. That's all."

"I guess your mind is the one part of you I haven't explored yet," Scott said in a voice thick with meaning as his eyes held Jessica's and he rubbed his hand over his lips. 

Jessica couldn't catch her breath. When he looked at her like that she felt like his gaze was physically touching her, stroking her.  

"What do you say?" Jim asked.

Jessica cleared her throat as she tried to find her voice. 

She took a sip from her wine and took the opportunity to slide her eyes away from Scott, looking for reprieve from the urges that were racing through her. Unfortunately she slid them over to Josh whose expression fanned the flame within her even higher. He was leaning back against the chair, head titled to the right, observing her. Just the way he sat there looking like every fiber of his being was less interested in her mind then her body nearly drove her over the edge. She took a big gulp of wine from her glass, and brought her gaze back to Jim. Though softened by a slight smile on Jim's lips, his expression wasn't much different than Scott or Josh's. Suddenly Jessica's confidence in winning the game faltered. It wasn't fair ... they were distracting her with these overwhelming feelings of pleasure and yearning. How would she win the game in this state? And somehow, she didn't know how, the hard muscles that had always been bulging on their arms, chest, legs, became more pronounced. Not frightening Jessica as they had in the past when she knew the unavoidable violence that they would be unleashing on her, but luring her, attracting her. She wanted them. Despite this, and the fact that she really couldn't think of a secret to divulge to them should she have to, she wasn't sure she could gamble on having to do so. The silence dragged on ... the men watching Jessica, Jessica watching the men, and suddenly she realized that she had stopped breathing. Gulping air, she sat up.




Lisa Ch. 05b: Only Human cont



"Are you okay?" Jim asked reaching out for her arm. Jessica nodded as she steadied her breathing.

"So?" Scott asked leaning forward in his seat, elbows on his thighs. His lips curled into a knowing smile. Jessica's feelings were evident. Josh had leaned toward her also, nodding his head toward her when Scott looked over at him, wanting to be sure he wasn't the only one picking up Jessica's signals. 

"Yup," Scott said to Josh and Jim, "you're not imagining it." 

And then swinging his lust riddled eyes back to Jessica he asked,

"What's your answer Jess?" 

"Okay," Jessica said. She took another sip of her wine taking the opportunity to look away from the men and stare at her wine. She worked on steadying her breathing and controlling her feelings. Her body was giving her desires away and it was disconcerting ... bordering on embarrassing.

"Alright," Scott said, "what do you want from us if you and Jessica win Josh?"   

"I want one of each of your nights with Jessica," Josh replied without hesitation.

"I wager the same thing with your night Josh," Jim said.

"Me too," Scott said.

"And Jess, you understand that riding is pretty big. You'd win that from both Scott and Jim, not to mention me." Josh said. 

Jessica nodded, returning to examining her cards. 

"Let's play then." Josh said.

The game went swiftly and decisively to Jessica and Josh. When the final point was won, Jessica could barely contain her excitement. Josh was pretty happy himself ... a couple of extra nights with Jessica.

"So tomorrow morning? First thing?" Jessica said excitement in her voice.

"Yes Jessica," Scott said more than a little upset that he'd lost his night with her. 

"Well," Josh said looking at his watch and then stretching his arms and faking a yawn, "if we're getting up early tomorrow then we should get to bed. Sorry Scott, better luck next time." He continued with a crooked grin. 

"Screw off," Scott said and Josh laughed.

"Ready Jess?" Josh asked. 

Jessica put her empty glass in Jim's outstretched hand and kissed him goodnight. She kissed Scott and then held Josh's hand as he led her to his room.

*********************************************************

"Josh! Josh!" Jessica said as she shook his arm. Josh groaned and opened one eye. Jessica had climbed down from the bed to his spot on the floor.

"What's wrong Jess?" he asked.

"It's morning ... time to get up."

"What time is it?" he asked. Jessica pushed up to his side table and returned with his watch.

"It's seven."

"Seven!" Josh exclaimed. "Jess, aren't you the least bit tired? We spent all night going at it like rabbits ... don't you want to sleep in?"

"You know," Jessica said running her hands through Josh's short hair, "I read somewhere that rabbits are early risers ... "

"Oh really?" Josh said placing his hand on her thigh and moving it up to the mound of hair between her legs, "Maybe they get up early to fuck again ... that I can live with ..." he snaked his other arm up around Jessica's waist and slid her down to lay beside him, leaning in he began kissing the nape of her neck.

"No ..." Jessica said giggling as his kisses tickled her. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed away with all of her might. "I think they get up early so they can go horseback riding."

"What?" Josh asked, looking up at her. "Rabbits? I guess you don't mean your regular rabbits ... just us two legged fucking rabbits ..." He pulled her on top of him again.

Jessica laughed. "Yes, I guess so. Come on Josh ... please ... please can we go?" She kissed him quickly on the lips and then leaned back, pouted her lips and batted her eyelashes.

Josh laughed. "Cute Jessica, very cute. Alright ... let's go." Josh said and followed Jessica as she stood up.  They were dressed in record time. Neither Scott nor Jim were up yet. Jessica began making breakfast, Josh put coffee on.

"We should wake them up," Jessica said when breakfast was made with no sign of Scott or Jim.

"Right." Josh said. "Allow me. If you go to get them you may never get to go horseback riding ...."

"You're right," Jessica agreed, "they're two legged rabbits too."

Josh laughed as he hesitated at the entrance to the hallway. He watched Jessica flutter around the table pouring coffee. He looked at the front door. He'd have to be fast.

"Where are they?" Jessica asked jumping up from the table when Josh returned alone. Josh laughed. He'd been doing that a lot lately and despite the fact that his face was starting to hurt, he enjoyed it. 

"They're coming Jessica ... they have to get ready." He sat down in the chair next to where Jessica stood and pulled her onto his lap, "and for the record, they think you're crazy."

"I prefer the word eccentric thank you very much." Jessica replied while smoothing a few stray strands of Josh's hair that stood up here and there.

"Sure," Josh said, "just a fancy way to say crazy but I can oblige."

"What the hell?" Scott asked as he stumbled into the dining room. "It's seven fifteen in the morning Jessica ..."

Jessica scrambled off of Josh's lap and pulled a chair for Scott.

"Here, sit down. Breakfast is ready ... here's some coffee."

When Jim appeared she pulled a chair for him as well.

"Are you eating?" Jim asked as Jessica stood watching them.

"Oh, right!" she slid into her chair and began shoveling eggs into her mouth. The men looked at one another, laughing. 

Scott shook his head. "Crazy ..." he muttered.

"Eccentric ..." Jessica corrected in between mouthfuls of egg.

"X what?" Jim asked with a laugh.

"Jessica prefers the refined word for crazy." Josh replied.

"I'm done!" Jessica said pushing her plate away and jumping up. 

"Clearly." Scott said. 

"Hey what are you doing?" He asked when Jessica pulled his plate away when he'd skewered his last bite of eggs with his fork.

"You're done too, right?" she asked and moved on to taking Jim and then Josh's plates. She moved to the kitchen dumped them in the sink and bounced back out. 

"Okay ... can we go ride?"

"We're not done our coffee yet." Jim said with a wink. Jessica looked like she was going to explode. She fidgeted while Jim brought his coffee to his lips.

"Jesus ..." Scott said when Jessica looked almost physically pained by the forced wait. "Okay guys, I don't know about you but I can wait for coffee."

Jessica began clapping her hands and bouncing up and down ... looking to Josh and Jim expectantly.

"I guess I can wait too," Josh said.

"Oh okay ..." Jim said struggling not to laugh too hard. "Honestly Jessica, I don't know how you maintain that level of enthusiasm without exhausting yourself." 

But Jessica wasn't paying attention. She'd grabbed Scott's hand and headed for the door.

"I take it that you'd like to ride Chestnut?" Scott asked as they entered the barn.

"You remembered!" Jessica exclaimed. 

"I sure did. The thing is that Chestnut can be pretty frisky at times." Scott said as Josh and Jim moved off to get their horses ready.

"That's okay. I can handle it."

"Do you know how to ride Jessica? And your little two minute stint on Ebony doesn't count."

Jessica was nodding her head. 

"I used to ride a lot." 

Scott caught his breath and watched her face for any sign that she was upset by the mention of her previous life but there was none. She was looking at Chestnut with longing. 

"Okay, let's get her saddled up for you." Scott said moving toward the saddle that balanced on the stall railing.

"Wait!" Jessica said, grabbing Scott's arm. "Do you mind if I do it myself?" 

"Okay," Scott said with hesitation. Chestnut was a tall horse he had his doubts that Jessica could manage. But he moved off to the next stall to prepare the horse he would ride. He kept his eye on Jessica as she bridled Chestnut swiftly and confidently. She didn't even have trouble throwing the saddle onto the horses tall back. He was feeling better about this now. Jessica obviously was not exaggerating her knowledge of horseback riding. Or, at least not preparation for horseback riding. They led the horses out of the barn and Jessica swung up onto the Chestnut with ease.

"Okay Jessica, we're going to warm up a little first. Nothing fancy. You haven't been on a horse in years." Scott said catching the reigns of Chestnut as Jessica had begun to urge her forward.

"Got it?" Josh asked beginning to wonder if this was a good idea. "I don't want to have to explain to Riley and Angus if you get hurt ... do you?"

Jessica shook her head but the perma smile that had glued itself to her face when they'd come out to the stables was unmovable.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful, I promise. Where are we going?"

"We've got a lot of land," Jim said indicating the countryside ahead of them. "We'll ride that. Maybe we'll get lucky and run across a few of those wild dogs." He continued, tapping the butt of the rifle that stuck out from the saddle holder near his leg.

"We should be so lucky." Scott said as they began to walk out around the corral.

Josh looked at Jessica. "Would that be good luck or bad luck?" he said and then motioned his head to Jessica when Scott and Jim picked up on his tone. "I'm not sure I'd really want to deal with wild dogs right now, with our present company."

Jessica caught his tone also. 

"Don't worry about me." Jessica said. "Wild dogs are wild dogs. I feel sorry for them but if they're dangerous then putting them down is probably the best thing for them."

"Right Jess," Josh said with a chuckle. "I am concerned about your mental and emotional health too, but my immediate concern would be your physical. I think it'd be better if you were nowhere near wild dogs."

Jessica smiled as she urged Chestnut onto a trot. "Don't worry Josh ... they'd have to catch me first."

"This is beautiful! You have beautiful land!" Jessica said as they pulled up at the top of a hill that overlooked a huge valley. They'd been riding for about an hour, Jessica setting the pace at a canter.

"Thanks," they said in unison. They were impressed with Jessica. She hadn't exaggerated her skills in any way. And she looked even more beautiful on a horse, hair flying, managing Chestnut so confidently.

"Is that a river down there?" she asked.

"Yup," Scott answered. "It flows into a ravine. It's great for swimming on hot summer days."

As they spoke, Chestnut stepped from side to side snorting.

"Whoa Chestnut," Scott said, "what the heck is her problem?"

"She's antsy, she wants to run."  Jessica replied reaching down and patting her neck.

"Run!" Jim exclaimed, "What the hell have we been doing for the past hour?"



"That was by no means running," Jessica said with a laugh.

"Really?" Josh said his voice sounding petulant, even to himself. "Then what, pray tell, is running?" 

He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth. Jessica sat up straighter on Chestnut and a look of determination settled onto her face. 

"We'll race you to the river ... last one there is a dirty, rotten egg!"

"Jessica!" All three men yelled at the same time, but it was too late. Jessica had spurred the all too accommodating Chestnut on and was flying at break neck speed toward the river.

"Holy shit!" Scott cursed as he and the other men urged their horses after her. She was going so fast ... too fast. 

"Jessica stop! Stop!" They took turns yelling but there was no way she'd hear them. 

Despite the horror of the moment Scott couldn't help notice that Jessica's body had taken on the riding position of a horse jockey ... as much as she could on a western saddle. And she was going so fast! Even though the men were urging their horses on, the gap between them and her kept widening.

"Is she making a run for it?" Josh asked suddenly, fear coursing through him.

"No," Jim said but there was no conviction behind it. 

"She has to stop at the river," Scott added. "she's not going anywhere."

"How can she go so fucking fast?" Josh asked as she pulled even further ahead of them. Chestnut looked like her legs were barely touching the ground.

"She has no fear ... " Jim answered with awe.

"Or she thinks she's going to get away." Scott said. And the horror of the possibility became more real as Jessica approached the river. It wasn't a huge river but wide and wild enough that a person and horse would have to slow down and carefully make their way across it. But Jessica wasn't slowing down.

"What the ..." Josh began as it appeared that Jessica was actually urging Chestnut on, making her go faster.

"She wouldn't ..." Scott said a horrible thought beginning to form. "She's not crazy enough to try and ..."

"Jump?" Jim finished Scott's sentence as Jessica and Chestnut launched into the air and sailed over the river. 

The men let out a collective sigh when Jessica and Chestnut landed safely on the other side. They had made it to the river and stood watching Jessica continue to ride away.

"She's not stopping ..." Scott said. But then Jessica looked over her shoulder. She turned Chestnut in a wide arc and raced back toward the river.

"Oh no ..." Josh growled as he realized her intention.

"No! Stop Jessica, stop!" Jim yelled as horse and rider picked up speed near the river. All three men fell silent and watched in slack jawed awe as Jessica and Chestnut sailed back over the river. Jessica guided Chestnut in another large circle and slowed her to a trot as she headed back to the men.

"Did you see that?" Jessica exclaimed while petting Chestnut's neck, "Isn't she great?"

"Great!" Josh growled. 

Scott grabbed Jessica's reins and pulled her closer. He stared into her face, unsure what to say or do. He couldn't decide if he was angry with her or impressed by her. 

As he watched the excitement on her face, in her eyes, the way she looked at him so innocently as if she had no clue what she'd just put him through, the urge to dominate her swept over him like a tidal wave. But Jessica was too preoccupied to notice.

"Do you know what we should do?" She was asking in a breathless and excited voice.

"No ..." Josh replied through clenched teeth, "what?" 

But Scott knew, knew exactly what he wanted to do. But he couldn't do it here.

"We should time the horses." She answered Josh, but then swung her gaze to Scott. "Chestnut is amazingly fast, I bet you the others are too. Ebony will be like a rocket I'm sure ..."

"Don't even consider bringing Ebony into this ..." Scott growled. 

She was 100% certifiable. What were the chances that Jim and Josh would let him take her to his room right now? He began forming what he hoped would be a convincing argument to not only convince Jim to switch his night with him but also allow him to fuck her brains out during the day, right now.

"Unbelievable!" Jim suddenly exclaimed and his tone even caught through Scott's growing urges and got his attention. Everyone looked at him. He was staring at Jessica with the strangest expression on his face. 

"You just live, don't you? You don't even consider the possible dangers involved in anything ... you don't even care. You just do it?" Jim was excited. He finally understood Jessica. There was no intent behind anything she did. She wasn't planning and scheming at every moment. She just seized whatever opportunities came along. It was all so clear now.

"I guess ..." she said when all the men's eyes landed on her and waited. She honestly didn't know what Jim was talking about but somehow his words seemed to mean something to Josh and Scott. They seemed to be relaxing.

"Just what kind of horseback riding did you used to do?" Jim asked realizing that this wouldn't be a trait that just developed. It had to be with her from the beginning.

"Racing, jumping, barrel racing, rodeo ..." Jessica rhymed off nonchalantly.

"Your ... parents ... " Scott nearly choked on the words, "would let you do these things?" 

"Of course," Jessica replied. "they never said no to anything. They believed anything and everything was possible."

Silence hung in the air as the men absorbed this. Jessica was still smiling at them. She'd answered in a tone that implied it was a matter of fact. No sadness, no anger, no regret.

"That explains a lot." Josh mumbled. Jessica clearly wasn't used to being told no, or what she could or could not do. They'd lost before they'd even begun.

"So," Jessica said, excitement bubbling inside her, "there's a perfect straightaway right there." She said pointing behind them, "we can run the horses flat out and time them!"

"Maybe you can run them flat out," Jim said, "but I sure can't."

"You don't have to," Jessica said, "I can run the horse that's being timed ... but it helps if you ride too, give the horse someone to race. We can start with Chestnut ... Josh will you race too?"

Josh looked at Scott. Scott shrugged. He didn't really know what to do. 

"Okay," Josh replied.

"So we should start over here," Jessica said beginning to move away. 

Scott let Chestnut's reigns go ... he was lost. 

"Line up here." She was telling Jim and Josh. "And we'll race to that clump of trees. And Scott, you have your watch right? You can time Chestnut. Then we can switch horses and we'll time the others. You can use your rifle as the starting pistol."

Scott didn't know how Jim and Josh felt, but he felt like he was in a daze. Obediently he pulled his rifle out as Jessica, Jim and Josh spaced themselves out along the imaginary start line. They looked at Scott. As if on autopilot he fired the gun into the air, and the horses took off. Jessica and Chestnut broke out ahead at what seemed to be an impossible speed. When Jessica pulled up at the trees Scott pressed stop on his watch. He looked at the numbers on the watch and his mind had trouble grasping their meaning.

"How'd she do?" Jessica asked as she came to join him.

"Unbelievable," Scott whispered. Jessica smiled.

"How do you stay on the flipping horse?" Josh asked. He had pushed his horse as fast as he dared ... to the point at which he actually felt fear, and Jessica still blew him away.

"You just have to get in rhythm with the horse ... " Jessica said as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do. "Okay, now switch with me ..." she said swinging off of Chestnut and moving toward Josh.

Josh pulled his rifle from its holder and swung off of Tanner, his horse.

"Do you want to run this one?" he asked Scott. 

Scott shook his head. 

"Didn't think so." Josh mumbled as he climbed on Chestnut. Jessica was already guiding Tanner to the start line. Scott fired the rifle into the air again and the horses flew off the mark. Scott gasped for breath as he pressed stop on his watch ... another unbelievable time. 



Hours later Jessica was clanking around the kitchen preparing dinner. The men sat in the living room watching her. They'd run the horses over and over again. Times improving with each run. 

"My ass hurts." Josh stated as he brought the beer he'd been nursing to his lips. 

"Mine too," Jim replied.

"Do you think hers does?" Josh asked nodding toward Jessica.

"How can it not?" Jim asked.

Scott suddenly sat forward. "Jessica," he called. She peeked over at him. "How's your ass?"

Jessica looked back at her butt and then back at Scott, confusion evident on her face.

"Is it sore?" Jim clarified with a laugh.

"No," she replied.

"I want to play euchre again tonight." Scott said, her answer being enough for him. No sore ass meant plenty of action was possible. His urge to dominate Jessica had not subsided throughout the day. He had to win tonight with her. Since she wasn't sore after the riding there'd be nothing to interfere with the multiple orgasms he intended to give her.

"Sure," Jim said catching the drift of what Scott wanted.

"Just remember that Jessica has a habit of winning." Josh said also understanding what Scott was after.




Lisa Ch. 05b: Only Human cont



"She has to lose some time." Scott said. 

Josh shook his head. He hoped Scott was wrong. He didn't want to lose his night with her.



Scott closed the bedroom door behind him. Jessica was toweling off by his bed. He had played euchre as if he were playing for his very life. He was so relieved when he and Jim had won. And then even more relieved when he had won the straw draw that determined who between he and Jim had their night with Jessica that night. He'd been so eager to get Jessica to his room that he'd even convinced Jim and Josh to wait for tomorrow to hear Jessica's secret. She'd been unable to think of a secret initially and he didn't have the patience to wait.

"Don't bother." Scott said as Jessica had reached for her pajamas. Jessica turned to face Scott, the towel wrapped around her.

"Your horses are great Scott!" She said clearly unable to get the day of riding out of her head. "Are you going to race them?"

"I don't know," Scott said moving up to her and running his hands over her towel covered breasts. "But I'm not thinking about that right now." 

Jessica clued in to the tone of Scott's voice and the look on his face and pleasure shot through her. 

"You know ... you broke a promise today." Scott said, squeezing her breast a little over the towel. Jessica looked stunned.

"I did? I don't remember ... I didn't mean to ... sorry." She said as Scott pulled the towel open and let it fall to the floor.

"Oh, that's okay." Scott said, his voice husky. "Now I get to break a promise too." 

A chill and then a wave of pleasure ran through Jessica at Scott's words. Something in Scott's tone made her think she should be concerned ... but somehow it turned her on. In a fluid motion Scott scooped Jessica into his arms and placed her on the bed. Then he reached under his bed and pulled out a plastic bag.

"You see," he began, "I promised never to use those handcuffs on you again." He nodded his head to the handcuffs that hung on his headboard. "But I'm going to. You don't have a choice about that. But you do have a choice about which toy I'm going to use on you." He said dumping an assortment of vibrators onto the bed in front of Jessica. 

"Which one do you want? " he asked lifting one at a time. 

Jessica looked at them. They'd used a few before ... She personally preferred the ones that worked on her clitoris only, that didn't penetrate her. 

"Look," Scott said lifting a long thin one up, "this is for the anus. What do you think? Hours of stimulation in your ass? That could be fun."

Jessica shook her head forcefully.

"No, no, not that," Jessica said quickly. "I'll take that one." She pointed to the vibrator that looked like a microphone.

"Very well." Scott said and dumped the others back in the bag. "Now, shackle yourself with the handcuffs." He ordered.

Jessica hesitated but only for a moment. Scott had a strange look on his face and Jessica wasn't sure if this was going to be good for her or bad. She got up on her knees and nervously snapped her right wrist into the handcuff. Then sitting, her back against the head board she managed to use her shackled hand to close the handcuff on her left hand.

"What promise did I break?" she asked as Scott double checked the handcuffs, tightening them.

"You promised to not do anything that could get you hurt." Scott replied, his voice so low, so calm, so husky that he practically purred. He sat down on the bed in front of her.

"But I didn't get hurt ..." Jessica said.

"That's true ..." Scott said running his hand down her leg, to her ankle. He ran his free hand behind Jessica's waist and pulled her forward on the bed, laying her down. With the other he raised her ankle to his lips. "But you did many, many, things that could have gotten you hurt. You broke your promise."

"But ..."

"But nothing Jessica." He said beginning to raise her leg toward her head, "I hope you're as flexible as I think you are ..." he said pushing her leg between two of the vertical bars on his headboard. 

Jessica gasped as he pulled her leg around a bar until it sat neatly behind her knee, her calf and foot sticking straight out from the headboard.

"Now the other one ..." he muttered as he did the same with the other leg. "Perfect!" he muttered sitting back on his haunches, looking at Jessica. 

Her legs were wide open, the lips of her pussy pulled open exposing her meat. 

"Let's arrange your breasts a little." He said fluffing them like they were pillows.

"I'll need access to them too. Now," he said turning the vibrator on. "I'm going to teach you a little lesson about listening. Do you recall us telling you to stop when you took off for the river?"

"No ... "Jessica said, "I didn't hear you!"

"And, do you think if you had heard us ..." Scott asked, placing the vibrator on her clitoris, "that you would have listened? Be careful Jessica .." he added as she opened her mouth to answer. "Be honest ... I think we both know what the truth is ... would you have listened?"

"No ..." Jessica panted as the vibrator did its job and pleasure began to mount.

"I didn't think so. You need a lesson in obedience." Scott said, his voice thick with lust. "Does it feel good Jessica? Do you feel like you will orgasm any moment now?"

Jessica was nodding her head. Scott took her nipple in the fingers of her left hand and pulled gently but firmly. 

"Well, don't. I'm not giving you permission to cum yet. " He said with a smile. 

Jessica shook her head.

"I won't be able to stop!" She gasped. 

"Well, that would be too bad ..." Scott muttered, leaving her breast and inserting his fingers into her vagina. Pressing deep, finding her G spot and pressing rhythmically. 

"See you have three chances. Three chances to hold off on orgasm when I tell you to, or reach orgasm when I tell you to. If you blow those three chances, I will be using the anal vibrator on you." 

He smiled when Jessica's eyes widened. "But it won't be the nice skinny vibrator ... It'll be the nice big, fat, thick one. I may not even put lubricant ..." his voice trailed off as Jessica's vagina pulsated and liquid gushed out ... Jessica's head lolled from side to side, pleasure shooting through her.

"I guess that was chance number one," he said quietly as Jessica began to calm and turned her eyes to him. He left the vibrator in place, continued to pulsate on her G spot with his fingers, and her legs began to twitch. 

"Does it feel pleasurable?" he asked as Jessica closed her eyes. 

"Not really," she replied. In a way it did, but her clitoris was too sensitive now. Every jerk of her legs represented a strange pleasure yet discomfort.

"Then, this is a good time for chance number two. You have thirty seconds to cum Jessica. And not a little orgasm but a gusher again ... and before I begin to count let me tell you what will happen once you fail your three chances, and you will. Once I'm done with the anal vibrator, we will return to this vibrator for the rest of the night. It will be on you all night, and you can practice cumming and not cumming on command. Ready now?" He asked. 

Jessica shook her head but he began to count anyway.

"One ..." he said, removing his fingers from her vagina ... no need to give extra assistance. Instead he placed his thumb on the entrance of her anus and applied a gentle pressure. "Two ... this is where the King Kong Dong of the anal vibrator world will enter ..." he said. 

"Please Scott ..." Jessica gasped ... "I can't ..."

"Three ... oh you can, if you actually try to obey ..." Scott said, pressing more firmly on her anus. He watched her face as he counted. She was concentrating so hard, trying so hard to reach orgasm. Suddenly his already stiff penis began to throb. He raised himself slightly.

"Open your mouth Jessica!" he said. She complied and he exploded, streams of his semen landing in her mouth, and on her face.

"Twenty-five ..." he gasped ... the semen on Jessica's face almost brought him to orgasm again.

"I can't ..." Jessica said, her legs twitching so hard Scott wondered if she could possibly break his headboard.

"Thirty ..." he said. He tisked, shaking his head.  There was no gushing so she clearly had not cum.

"Please, Scott, it's starting now ..." Jessica said as her legs stopped twitching and she arched her back.

"How fortunate ..." Scott said, "just in time for chance number three. Don't orgasm Jessica. Don't you fucking do it until I say you can ..." He inserted his fingers in her vagina again and tapped. He brought his face to her pussy and inhaled. 

"You smell so good!" he sighed and licked the meat that was not directly under the vibrator.

"No Scott ... it's not fair! Please!" But he'd had her taste now and couldn't stop. Wave upon wave of pleasure rocked Jessica and liquid squirted our all over Scott. As Jessica's legs began to twitch, Scott turned off the vibrator. 

"I'd say that was a very big orgasm ..." he said wiping his face with his hand. He reached into the plastic bag he'd pushed behind him and pulled out a large vibrator. 

"Jessica, say hello to Dong ... King Kong Dong."

"No ..." Jessica whispered.

"Yes ... but don't worry I will use some lubricant. I can show some mercy even if you can't obey properly."

"Scott ... please I'm not purposely not listening, I can't control it ..."

Scott watched her face as he slowly and deliberately rubbed lubricant onto the large toy.

"You just need some practice Jessica," he said bringing the vibrator to her anus. "You can begin now. Lift your butt Jessica. It'll be easier for you if I have some more direct access ... that's it ... " he muttered as she'd tilted her bum up for him.

**************************************************************

"Morning," Jim greeted Jessica when she and Scott emerged into the living room the next morning.

"Morning," Jessica said going to Jim and then Josh for a kiss.

"You look tired," Josh commented as he pushed her back and looked at her face. A slight shade of pink developed on her cheeks as she smiled.

"I'm fine. Have you eaten yet?"

"No," Josh said confused by something in her demeanor ... she wasn't looking him in the eye.

"I'll make some eggs," she said and moved off to the kitchen. 

Both Jim and Josh looked over at Scott. He was watching Jessica and there was something odd in his expression also.

"Is she okay?" Jim asked Scott. Scott pulled his eyes from Jessica and looked at Jim and Josh, something like guilt in his eyes.

"I think so," Scott swung his eyes back to Jessica. Guilt nagged at him. He had gone too far last night. She hadn't wanted the anal vibrator, but she eventually seemed to enjoy it. But then after ... he'd gone way too far with the other vibrator. She'd taken it for hours without a peep but then when she'd finally asked him to stop, he hadn't. He couldn't. He was ... addicted. Addicted to her smell, her taste, the look on her face as her legs twitched. He zoned out. It wasn't until the sun began coming up that he'd finally realized what he'd done ... how long he'd done it. He turned off the vibrator, untangled her legs and uncuffed her. She was so tired that she simply turned on her side and went to sleep. He was exhausted also and didn't think much of it until they'd woken up. She'd asked him about the horses again ... what he planned to do ... but he had no clue and when he told her that she lowered her eyes and wouldn't look him in the eye again.

"Did you have sex all night again?" Josh demanded.

"Something like that ..." Scott said and got up, moving to the kitchen. He came up behind Jessica and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Jessica jumped. She was a bundle of nerves. Scott's administration of the vibrator had wore her raw ... but in a good way. Despite having more than enough of it, there was a yearning that still lingered between her legs. But she hadn't heard Scott coming, and her whole body felt raw and particularly sensitive to any touch.

"Sorry," Scott mumbled. "Are you okay?" he asked, rubbing her arms with his hands.

"Sure, I'm fine," Jessica said without looking him in the eye. She was deeply disappointed with him. They had proven that his dream was possible yesterday, and he had no plans to do anything about it. It was so unfair. There was so much that she wanted to do and couldn't, and here was his opportunity to live his dream and he wasn't going to take it. 

He dropped his hand to her bum and rubbed it gently.

"Are you okay down here?" he asked. Guilt choked his voice. This brought her eyes to his.

"Fine. I'm fine." She replied. 

She'd been surprised at how much pleasure she could actually have there. Once the initial terror had subsided, pleasure had rocked her. "Do you want one egg or two?"

"Two ..." he answered not overly placated by her response.

"Hey Jess," Jim said from the dining room, "Scott has to go into town today, but we could go riding again ..."

Damn! Scott forgot about his appointment in town.

"I'm not going." Scott said without thinking it through.

"What?" Jim and Josh asked in unison. 

"I'm going to call and reschedule. It won't be a problem."

"How are you going to call? Riley and Angus took the cell phone." Josh said.

Scott hesitated. That did pose a problem.

"I'll just go to the corner store ... call from there. I'll be back in half an hour tops. But ummm, would you mind waiting for me to get back to go riding? I'd like to go too."  It was irrational and selfish for sure, but he couldn't stand the thought of her riding with Jim and Josh without him.

"Okay, fine, we can wait." Jim said.

"Have you thought of a secret to tell us yet?" Josh asked, overly casually. He'd been a little miffed that Scott had dragged Jessica off before she'd shared. Jessica got that deer in the headlights look again. Scott was thankful that he hadn't thought of forcing it out of her last night. He would've felt even more like a heel.

"Not yet." Jessica said, "Breakfast is ready ..."

"You know, anything personal would do," Jim said as he took his seat at the table.

"Eggs?" Jessica replied, holding the frying pan over his plate.

"I think she needs more time." Scott said. "To think about it!" he added when both Jim and Josh looked at him like they wanted to strangle him. 

"I'm sure you'll think of something by tonight." Josh added and dug into his food.

Despite the fact that Jessica shuffled in her seat all through breakfast, crossing, uncrossing, re-crossing her legs in an attempt to get comfortable, Scott managed to finish his meal without completely feeling like dirt. He wanted to promise himself, and Jessica, that there wouldn't be a repeat of what happened the previous night, but he knew he couldn't. Knowing Jessica, she would inevitably do something that would make him want to dominate her again. He would just have to find some way to make it up to her.

"I'll be back soon," Scott said placing a kiss on Jessica's lips and then running out the door. The tires of the car spewed gravel as he raced out of the driveway.

"If he doesn't wrap himself around a pole first ..." Josh mumbled.

"A pole?" Jessica asked, concern etched on her face.

"I'm just joking," Josh said but he was glad to see that she cared about Scott's health. Maybe she cared about his too.



Scott drove back to the house as fast as he could. He'd made his call, and then wavered about whether he should go into town anyway and pick something up for Jessica. Something special to try to apologize for the previous night. 

But he couldn't for the life of him think of what to get her. Instead he finally decided that he'd have to make it up to her some other way. Decision made, he wanted to get back to the house, to Jessica, as quickly as possible. What, he wondered as he screeched into the driveway and slammed on the brakes, were the chances that he could win euchre and the straw draw tonight again? Near impossible he acknowledged as he slammed the car door and moved toward the barn. He wondered what Jim and Josh had been doing with Jessica while he was gone. He rounded the barn and stopped short. Jessica and Josh were shoving one another, turning in circles and laughing while they fought over a soccer ball. Jim stood between two poles of the corral fences, shuffling back and forth between the poles keeping his eyes on the ball.

"Don't let her through Josh!" he was saying, "She's a ringer!  Not that great at soccer my ass!" 

Just then Jessica managed to break away from Josh, dribble the ball toward Jim and shoot the ball past him between the posts.

"Damn it!" Jim cursed but then broke into a laugh. He spotted Scott. "She scored ten goals on us!"

"Really?" Scott asked. "Where'd you find the ball?" 

They hadn't played soccer in so long ... not since Jessica had come here. He'd forgotten about it entirely, but now, especially having seen Jessica playing, he missed it.

"Jess found it in the loft," Josh said. 

"Do you want to play?" Jessica asked. But as soon as Scott's eyes fell on her, her cheeks turned pink and she shifted her eyes from his. Every time she looked at him, her privates continued to tingled. 

"Sure." 

Jim moved out of nets, Scott took his place and Josh moved into the barn doorway which was going to serve as his and Jessica's net. What seemed like minutes, but turned out to be an hour later, the game was tied up.

"Hey, it's lunch time." Josh said, looking at his watch. "Do you want to go for lunch?"

"I'm not really hungry." Jessica said, eyeing the barn.

"Want to go for a ride?" Scott asked with a chuckle. Jessica nodded with excitement.

"I don't believe it!" Josh muttered later that night. 

They had timed another four horses that afternoon, come home for dinner, and played euchre. Somehow Scott and Jim had won euchre again, and Scott had won the straw draw.  Jim was looking less than impressed also. Scott didn't care. All that had fazed him was Jessica's reaction. She had sighed, as if resigned to some less than enthralling fate. Suddenly he knew how he'd make things up to her. Tit for tat ... he'd let her dominate him. He shuddered at the thought. Partially from the anticipation of pleasure, partially from fear of the unknown.

"Fine, you won fair and square." Jim said, "But no way are you leaving this room until Jessica tells us two personal things about her. Jess?"

They all looked at Jessica and she looked like she wanted to find a rock to crawl under.

"Just relax Jess." Jim said. "Relax and tell us something about you that we don't know."

Silence ensued as Jessica looked even more stressed. Suddenly Jessica's head snapped to the radio. It has just started playing a song with a really good beat to it.

"I can play that song." Jessica said.

"That song?" Jim asked. "On what?"

"On your guitar." 

"My guitar? Since when can you play guitar?" Jim demanded.

"I've played since I was little." She replied. Jim sat gaping at her. 

"All this time. All this time that I have been playing for you, you could play guitar too?"

Jessica nodded.

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" Jim asked and there was little doubt that his feelings were hurt.

"I didn't think it was important." Jessica replied. She looked confused by Jim's reaction. "And you never asked."

"And this is a brand new song," Scott added. "There's no way you could have learned it before ... before you came here."

"I play by ear." Jessica said. "I can read music, but I mostly play by ear. Bring me your guitar Jim, I'll prove it to you."

Jim went to his room and got his guitar. He handed it to Jessica almost afraid to see her play. All this time and never once had she told him she could. Jessica strummed the guitar, and then began to play the song from the radio almost perfectly ... singing the song also. She looked so happy, so enthralled. Jim felt like she'd plunged a knife into his chest and twisted it. When she finished the men sat gaping at her. 




Lisa Ch. 05b: Only Human cont



"That was Avril Lavigne," Jessica said more to Jim then to the others. He and she had watched her videos on his TV numerous times.

"I know." Jim said, "You sounded exactly like her."

"Play something else." Josh encouraged. He didn't have to ask twice. Jessica launched into another song. When she was done, she suddenly sat up straight.

"I've got an idea!" she exclaimed in an excited voice. "Scott, Josh, do either of you play any instruments?"

Scott shrugged, "I can sort of play the drums."

"I can sort of play the piano." Josh added.

"Perfect!" she said clapping her hands. "Let's make a band! I can help you guys when you need it and we can practice some songs!"

"Whoa ..." Scott said, not sure he'd heard properly. "Did you just say you could help us with drums and piano? Just how many instruments do you play?"

"Three." Jessica replied.

"Guitar, piano and drum?" Jim asked. Jessica nodded.

"We'll have to buy some drums and a keyboard ... but where would we keep them so Riley and Angus don't ask questions?" Josh asked. He liked the idea of playing as a band, but the practicality of it was hard to imagine working.

"In your rooms." Jim said. After all, it worked for him and the TV.

"Okay ..." Scott said almost afraid to ask the next question. "So what other private thing do you have to tell us? What else are you excellent at?"

"Brain surgery?" Jim asked quietly but regretted it when Jessica lowered her chin to her chest. 

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded." Jim said. "I actually think you are capable of brain surgery ... I didn't mean it as a put down."

Jessica shrugged. 

"Come on Jess. You used to ride at a rodeo ... race horses, play instruments ... what else?" Josh prompted.

"I used to be on the junior rifle team." She said. It seemed like something they'd be interested in ... far more interested than the gymnastics she'd done.

"Rifle team ... " Scott repeated.

"Were you any good?" Jim asked ... weaponry being one of his passions.

"Yes. " Jessica replied. "My team won the championship in our class for two years in a row."

"Well, I guess Jessica has held up her end of the deal." Scott said suddenly worried that someone would suggest that she prove her shooting skills to them as she had her musical. He couldn't take another delay in getting her to himself. "Time for bed."

Jessica passed the guitar to Jim and then kissed him goodnight. And then she went to Josh to say good night. Scott took her hand and led her down the hallway to the bathroom for her shower. She seemed to be taking a really long time. Scott stood outside the door waiting. Just as he was about to knock on the door the shower turned off. In his room, Jessica stood by his bed drying herself. 

"Can I put on my pajamas?" she asked. 

"Yes." 

Jessica reached for her pajamas and Scott was fairly certain he'd heard a sigh of relief escape her. Dressed, Jessica crawled onto the bed, turned on her side, pulled her knees to her chest and looked at Scott. The way he was looking at her Jessica had the feeling she was in for another vibrator marathon. Before it got to that she thought she'd give him another try with the horses.  

"So ... any idea if you're going to race any of the horses?" she asked.

"No, not yet." Scott answered. He was wondering if he could get away with another night of dominating Jessica, give her a chance another time. He really wanted to dominate her. He'd have to control himself better than he had the previous night ... but he could do it, he was certain of it. But then there was that look on her face again. Guilt washed over him as Jessica sighed and reached for her novel on the bedside table. 

Surely Scott wouldn't begrudge her some time reading a novel ... something not sex related, for a little while. Especially after the previous night. But then she felt Scott sit down next to her on the bed. She kept reading. Just half an hour, she was ready to beg for just half an hour to read.

"Jess." Scott said.

"Yes?" she asked, not lowering her book.

"Can you look at me for a minute?"

Jessica lowered her book, but just so her eyes peeked over the top.

"I know last night was ... a little over the top. But I want to give you a chance to do the same to me."

"You do?" Jessica asked, forgetting about her book. 

"Yup. You can do anything ... sexual, anything sexual to me that you want. You can even use the handcuffs if you want." He gulped as he looked at the handcuffs above his head. It still scared him to be so vulnerable to her. Jessica followed his gaze and was confused by the look on his face. She couldn't decide if it was terror on his face or excitement. But then she decided it had to be excitement. She could remember how much he enjoyed himself the previous night. Well, maybe he wanted to be vibrator tortured too. She had to admit that despite some of the discomfort at times it had been enjoyable and it must have been fun to be the one dishing it out.

"Okay," Jessica sat up, tossing her book onto the side table. "I'm game. If you're sure."

Scott nodded. As long as she stuck to sex and not murder, he was okay. And nothing in her behavior over the past few days made him think she had violence in mind.

"Well then ... ummm." She was wondering what direction to go in. 

"Take off your clothes ..." she ordered and continued contemplating while she watched Scott strip down. Vibrators ... what could she do to Scott with a vibrator. And then it hit her. The perfect idea. She'd been surprised by how much she'd actually enjoyed the anal vibrator. And she'd read many times that it would be even more enjoyable for men. She nodded at the handcuffs when Scott lay back to look at her, his beautiful muscular nakedness staring at her ... tempting her. "Shackle up ..." She ordered. Scott nodded and got up to chain his one wrist to one of the handcuff. Then the other. He leaned back against the headboard of the bed ... trepidation flowing over him.

"Now. I need you in exactly the same position I was in last night." She said.

"What?" Scott croaked, picturing her with her legs up around her head.  "I don't bend like that Jess."

"You will, don't worry." Jessica said grabbing his right ankle.

"Jess, don't ... ahhh!" he groaned as Jessica pulled his leg up by his head and threaded it between the bars of the headboard. And before he had time to protest, she pulled his other leg up also.

"Very good ..." Jessica said looking down at him. And then she moved off the bed and reached under it.

"What are you doing Jess?" Scott asked. He heard her root around under the bed and then she dropped the plastic bag on the bed.

"You know," she began, "the wonderful thing about anal vibrators is that they work just as well for men as they do for women. I mean an asshole is an asshole, right?" she asked smiling.

"Oh no Jess, you wouldn't ..."

"In fact, I've read in the numerous books and magazines that you've given me, that anal stimulation is the best thing going for men." She leaned in closer to him, between his spread legs and gently brought her finger to his anus. "That's where your G spot is after all ... in your anus."

"Jess ..." 

"Ah, ah, ah," Jessica said, slapping his testicles lightly.

"Hey!" he protested.

"No arguing Scott, not a sound at all. You keep nice and quiet or I'll be forced to muzzle you. Now all of that literature states that many men are threatened by anal stimulation. They're afraid that if they enjoy it that may mean that they're gay. What about you Scott. Are you afraid it'll mean you're gay when you enjoy tonight?"

"Jessica!" Scott said sternly. This wasn't funny anymore. God he'd never imagined that she'd butt fuck him.

"Rules are rules Scott." She said as she brought his underwear toward his mouth. 

He sealed his lips, but Jessica pinched his nose until he could hold his breath no longer and when he opened his mouth she shoved it in. Taking his shirt, she tied it around his mouth so he couldn't spit out the gag. He began to shake his head, mumbling a 'no' that no one could hear. Jessica grabbed his penis and began to stroke it firmly. And suddenly he felt something pressed against his anus.

"Now listen carefully Scott." She muttered as his penis stiffened and he began to arch with obvious pleasure. "If you shake your head no again, I will shove this thing in your butt with no lubricant, no gentleness, no warm up. So all you're going to say from now on is yes. Got it? Got it!" She demanded when Scott just looked at her. 

She pressed the vibrator a little further and suddenly Scott was nodding frantically.

"Okay. Now, for lubricant ... that could be interesting. Normally I'd try to find that nice little bottle that you used for me last night ... but I think it may be more interesting if I jerk you off and then use your own semen as your lubricant. What do you think?" 

She squeezed his cock until he nodded.

She began to stroke. 

"And Scott, when you come, you can't move, not a muscle ... except of course for your penis that'll have to move. But your head can't move, you legs, butt, nothing. If anything does, the vibrator goes in."

She stroked faster and hard, and suddenly Scott was closing his eyes ... but he couldn't help himself and he threw his head to one side and thrust up as his cock spewed semen. And when Jessica slid the vibrator into his anus, his body arched. She clicked the on button and began to move it back and forth. At first Scott froze in place but as Jessica slid the vibrator back and forth more rapidly, and her hand rubbed on his now slack penis, life began to return to it. Suddenly it all felt good, pleasure racked his body and his cock vibrated in Jessica's hand, trying to spit out semen that just wouldn't come. 

And then he collapsed on the bed. Jessica smiled and then removed the vibrator. She moved up and undid the handcuffs, and then untied his gag. She pulled his legs down from the headboard.

"Scott, are you okay?" She asked as he lay still, panting. She took his face in her hands and caressed the cheeks. He nodded.

"That was the strangest sensation. Did I actually cum, without actually cumming?" He asked.

"Neat isn't it? When your G spot gets stimulated you don't actually eject any semen."

"That's the weirdest shit I've ever seen." He said and he turned to wrap his arms around Jessica. "So you got to chain me up and have your way with me. Now we're even."

"Even?" Jessica asked sliding down to lay beside him.

"Yes. Can you forgive me now, for last night? For going too far?" Scott asked looking up at her in earnest.

Jessica looked bewildered. "Why would I have to forgive you?"

"Last night. I'd gone overboard ... forced you to orgasm far too many times. I'm sure it hurt." He said running his hand down her body and laying it between legs, over her pants.

"Well, it was uncomfortable sometimes ... but for the most part I enjoyed it." 

Scott did a double take.

"What?" Jessica asked with a laugh when Scott lay staring at her.

"But you were mad. You were mad at me, I could tell."

"Well, yeah, I was mad at you, but not because of that."

"Let me get this straight. You were mad at me about something other than the overuse of the vibrator and use of anal vibrator against your consent?"

"Yes." Jessica said. 

Scott sat up.

"Why then, why were you mad at me?"

"Because of the horses."

"Horses!" Scott thundered. That was completely out of the blue. 

Jessica jumped a little. 

"Why would you be mad at me about the horses?"

"Why not?" Jessica asked, "Now you're mad at me about the horses."

Scott caught himself before he spoke again. He forced himself the make his voice more gentle.

"I'm not mad, I'm just surprised. And I just let myself get anally raped to make something up to you that I didn't really need to ..."

"You did all of this," Jessica said indicating the cuffs, vibrator and underwear, "to try and make me happy about last night?"

Scott nodded. 

Jessica smiled.

"It's funny isn't it?" Scott said.

"No. It's not funny. It's sweet." Jessica said and cuddled up to Scott. She kissed his lips and then settled her head onto his chest. 

"It's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Scott said bringing his arms around her. "Ummm, don't get me wrong Jessica. To see you this happy I would allow myself to have a friggin' tree trunk shoved up my ass ..." Jessica giggled, and it made Scott laugh too. "But I am curious about what made you mad at me in the first place. What did it have to do with the horses?" 

"It has more to do with you really. You and your dream. Scott, you have the chance to make your dream come true. You've seen how fast the horses can run. Do it ... find someone to ride and go race them!" 

Jessica's voice was getting louder and more excited as she spoke and she ended-up on her knees, leaning over Scott. "Don't you know? You can live your dream ... you have to do it. You just have to!" She stopped talking but she was panting from the effort. 

Scott lay staring at her. She was right of course. There was no excuse for not following through.

"Okay." Scott said. "I'll do it. But it isn't going to be easy ... it can't happen overnight. I have to organize a few things first ... and then of course I have to work on Riley."

Jessica was nodding. "But you'll do it, for sure?"

"For sure." 

And Jessica beamed at him so much that he had to kiss her. 

"And so, last night didn't make you angry at me in the least?" Scott asked, running his hand on her arm.

Jessica hesitated. "No ... " she said slowly.

"But?" Scott asked.

"But ... I'm not looking for a repeat too soon." Jessica said. "It was pretty intense."

"And ..." Scott said, his eyes flicking up to the novel sitting on the side table. "I'm guessing you'd like a break from sex tonight. Read your book maybe?"

Jessica looked at Scott in surprise. "How'd you know?" she asked.

"I'm the master of observation. You go ahead and read ... I'm going to clean-up."

"Thanks," Jessica said as he planted a kiss on her lips and then crawled out of the bed. 

Scott picked up the book and looked at the cover. "Gone with the Wind? Not very light reading." He said while handing her the book.

"It's pretty easy to get pulled into the book." Jessica said. "It's even better than the movie." She and Jimmy had watched it before she'd started reading the book. It was a shame Scott and Josh didn't know about the TV, there were many shows and movies she was certain they would like to watch too. But it was Jimmy's secret to tell not hers. 

"Well, enjoy." He said kissing her forehead and then heading out the bedroom door. 

Jessica heard the bolt fall into place on the door and then she snuggled down in the bed and found her spot in the book. She was so involved in the story that she barely noticed Scott return. It wasn't until he'd been lying beside her for a while without moving that she glanced over at him. 

He was beside her and reading a novel as well.

Jessica sat up and leaned forward to look at the front of the book.

"You're reading?" she asked, astonished.

Scott lowered the book and chuckled. "I do know how to read you know."

"I know. But it's not a sex book or magazine ... ".

At this Scott closed the book and looked at the cowboy astride a horse on the cover.

"I guess sex is all you really know about me ... " 

"Sex and horses," Jessica agreed falling back down on the bed.

"Those are mutually exclusive!" Scott growled in a fake angry voice.

Jessica thought about it for a moment and then began laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

"Alright, alright ..." Scott said when the laughter wasn't dissipating. "I think I know what you're picturing and I have to say that you have one sick mind!" 

That brought another wave of laughter from Jessica.

"You know ..." Scott said when her laughter began to subside, "I'm only with you one out of every five nights ... I do have other interests."

"So you like westerns?" Jessica asked, nodding at the book.

"Westerns are my favorite. Sometimes I wish I'd been born in that time ... sometimes I feel like I should have been born in that time. Travel by horse, wild west ... I would love that."

"I can see you as a cowboy. Maybe you did live in that time ... maybe you've been re-incarnated. " Jessica replied.

Scott did a double take. "Do you believe in re-incarnation?"

"I don't know." Jessica said with a shrug. "But I sure hope it's true. It'd be pretty darn boring just lying in the ground ... being eaten by worms." 

Jessica's voice had trailed off and Scott felt a sense of horror as he imagined Jessica picturing her family in the ground, worms feasting on them. 

He shook his head to rid himself of the image.

"How about you?" he said nodding at Jessica's book. "Epic love stories your cup of tea?"

"Not usually." Jessica replied. "I like mysteries mostly. But love stories are up there."

"Hmmm. So is there a lot of sex in these love stories?" 

Jessica laughed. "Surprisingly yes. But not quite as explicit as I think you'd like. Is there sex in the westerns?"

"Actually, no." And Scott was surprised by the realization that he did actually enjoy something that was not centered around sex. 

"So there's hope for you yet?" Jessica asked with a chuckle.

"Yup." Scott said. "But very little hope. If you actually intend to read some of that book tonight Jess, you'd better get to it. I'm starting to get distracted ... beginning to think about kissing you ..."

"Got it," Jessica said and brought the book up, sinking back onto the bed. 

Scott watched her for a few minutes. He really did want to go at it again, but that would really reinforce Jessica's image of him as a two dimensional guy. Sex and horses. Well, in truth that really did sum him up. But somehow that didn't feel satisfying. He was fairly certain that there was more to Jim and Josh .... Maybe even Riley and Angus. He forced his eyes back to his book. He'd get her in the morning.

**************************************************************

"So?" Josh asked Scott the next morning over breakfast. "Wanna go into town? Buy a keyboard and a drum set?"

Jessica's head had snapped up. Scott couldn't help but smile, and he soon saw Jim and Josh doing the same. She was so expressive ... now that she was more relaxed around them. She always seemed to have this enthusiasm that never waned. And it didn't seem reserved to just horses and music. Scott remembered how willing Jessica had been that morning. To have sex. It was as if she was the female version of himself. 

"Really?" Jessica asked, bouncing up and down in her chair. "Can we really be a band?"

"That's the plan." Josh said. 

"I have some business to do in town too." Scott said, " so it's perfect timing."

Jessica continued bouncing. Jim's smile faded as the feeling of betrayal surged again. He'd been awake all night trying to figure out why Jessica had kept her musical talents from him this whole time. Luckily Scott and Josh would be gone for a good portion of the day. This would be his time to figure it out.

"What'll you do while we're gone?" Scott asked, hoping that they would not race the horses without him.

"Jim?" Josh prompted when Jim seemed off in his own thoughts.

"Huh? Sorry?" Jim muttered as his eyes shifted over to Jessica quickly. What possible explanation could she have? He wondered. There was none.

"... do while we're gone?" Scott repeated his question.

"I'd planned on fixing the back fence today. I figured Jessica could help out."

Jessica was clapping her hands with joy at the prospect.

"So you won't time any more horses till we get back?" Scott asked.

"No, no way. I can only handle that speed every other day. We'll be taking it nice and slow ..." Jim said looking at Jessica and emphasizing the word slow, "today. We'll meander down to the back field on the horses, that's it." Jessica didn't seem the least bit upset by this. She just kept bouncing up and down and clapping.




Lisa Ch. 05b: Only Human cont



Half an hour later Josh and Scott had left and Jim and Jessica were in the barn getting the horses saddled. Jessica was humming to herself as she worked. This was more than Jim could take. He moved around his horse, around Chestnut and took Jessica's elbow. 

"Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised first by Jim's sudden appearance, and then by his expression. "Are you okay?"

"No." Jim said and stood staring at her.

"Well, what's wrong?" Jessica asked when it was obvious he wasn't going to say any more.

"Why? Why wouldn't you tell me that you could play the guitar ... or the piano or drums ... but for Christ sake Jessica ... the guitar? How many times did I play my guitar for you? Surely you could have said something?!"

Jessica felt like the air had been knocked out of her. Jim looked so upset. Sounded so upset. And she knew her answer would only upset him more. 

"Are you just going to pretend that you didn't hear my question?" Jim asked. His voice hushed. He'd hoped that perhaps it had all been some misunderstanding ... some easily explainable oversight ... some explanation he just couldn't fathom. But Jessica's reaction made it clear that it wasn't.

"No." Jessica said in an equally hushed voice. "If I told you that I thought that playing the guitar was your thing and I didn't want to steal your thunder, would you believe me?"

"No."

"Well. It is partially true. It was your thing."

"But?"

"But. I just didn't want you to know." There, she'd said it. 

"Oh." 

"That was a long time ago ... that I didn't want you to know." Jessica said moving into Jim's arms. She laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "Really. It's not the same anymore."

"It was just the other night that I played for you Jessica. You could have told me then." He said bringing his arms around her, unable to refrain from pulling her to him.



"I know." Jessica said leaning back to look at him. "But by then I hadn't told you for so long that telling you would have been awkward. I don't know if that makes sense."

"Oddly," he said bringing his hands up to cup her face. "It does make sense. I'm not sure how I would have reacted. But now I'm prepped. So, is there anything else that may be awkward for you to tell me? Now that I'm kind of ready for it?" 

"There probably is." Jessica said kissing the inside of his hand as it caressed her cheek. "But I can't really think of it right now."

"But when you do, you'll tell me?"

"Sure ..." Jessica said hesitantly.

Jim sighed. "That's not very convincing."

"Is it so bad if I have some things I just keep to myself?" Jessica asked. "I doubt you tell me everything about you ... everything ..." she repeated with emphasis when Jim was about to argue.

"Okay. I haven't told you everything. What do you want to know?"

"How many girlfriends have you had?" Jessica asked, leaning away from him so she could see his face. Jimmy's lips curled into a slight smile. Had he detected a hint of jealousy in her voice?

"One." Jim answered. "What?" he demanded when she narrowed her eyes at him. 

"Okay. One serious girlfriend." Jessica said, " But how many girlfriends in total?"

"I'm not trying to pull something on you here Jessica. I'm no Scott. I've had one girlfriend ... other than you." He snuck in and watched for a reaction. 

That had caught her off guard. She stared at him for a moment, blinked, and then smiled.

"You consider me your girlfriend?" she asked in a shy voice. 

Without thought she reached up and started playing with the collar on his shirt.

"Much more than I considered my other girlfriend to be a girlfriend."

"What was her name?" Jessica asked still focused on the buttons that were buttoned and needed absolutely no fixing. Jim tilted her chin up, until she was looking him in the eye.

"I don't remember."

"Oh come one!" Jessica said with a laugh. 

"Okay. Her name was Scarlet. She was my first and last real relationship, until now. And it in no way compares to how I feel about you. Not even close."

"So what happened?" She asked, a large smile on her face and pink coloring her cheeks. 

"To her?" Jim asked. 

Jessica nodded. 

"Her family moved and she went with them. We weren't Romeo and Juliet, so it was fine."

"I guess she wasn't one of you?" Jessica asked. 

She felt Jim tense.  

"One of us?" he asked quietly. 

"Yes, you know ... one of your clan?" 

"She was ... one of us." Jim said. 

Somehow this conversation felt wrong. When they'd first brought Jessica here they'd spoken about their clan and other clans a lot. Part of the barrage of verbal and mental abuse they'd used ... explanations as to why her family had had to die. Why she had to be their prisoner. And there it was ... one of the many reasons this conversation felt wrong. He was in a "relationship" with his prisoner, could that ever really count as a real relationship?

"But her family moved?" Jessica persisted. 

Suddenly Jim wished this conversation was not happening.  "She was part of another clan ... and they moved." Jim's voice was getting quieter and he was desperately thinking of a way to redirect Jessica.

"I'd heard about that I guess. My parents did say your clans could change permutations ... but for the most part you stayed together, right? Jim?" Jessica asked when Jim began to turn green. 

"Your parents told you about us?" he whispered. It felt so wrong ... so wrong!

"Of course." Jessica said. "You were our mortal enemy. Do you really think my parents would leave us in the dark about you?"

Jim just stared at her. 

"But they had a few things wrong ..." Jessica continued and Jim could tell that she was remembering something. She had a faraway look in her eye. 

"They said the clan always stuck together. But you've separated from the clan, right? Riley and Angus go out with the rest of the clan. But we have nothing to do with them ... and they also said that you'd kill me as soon as you got the chance. I kept waiting ... but you never did." 

She refocused. Jim wasn't sure what his face looked like, but it couldn't have been pretty because Jessica blanched.

"Jim? Are you okay?" She brought her hands to his cheeks.

"No. No I'm not. I need a break from this conversation ..."

"Okay." Jessica said and she seemed really confused, "But I thought you were going to tell me everything about yourself."

"What else do you want to know?" he asked.

"How many people have you killed?" 

Jim felt like he was going to hyperventilate. He pushed Jessica away and pressing his palms against Chestnut he leaned on the horse ... head between his arms.

" Jimmy, what's wrong with you?" Jessica asked in alarm.

"What kinds of questions are you asking Jessica?" he demanded. "How can you ask these things so calmly ... like you're asking about the weather? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me!" Jessica replied. Jim whipped his head up to look at her. There was anger in her voice, but her face didn't reflect any hatred. "You asked me what I wanted to know. This is what I want to know. And I thought you wanted to know things about me. Well, I'm telling you. So, what's wrong with you?"

"I don't want you to know these things Jessica. I don't want you to know how many people I've killed. Can't I be the Jim that loves you, and never mind what I did before I met you?"

"Sure." Jessica said, but her voice sounded less than enthused. "We can do that." She was rubbing his back, comforting him. This was all wrong. Why was she ... the most innocent person Jim had ever known, going out of her way to spare his feelings ... comforting him because he didn't want to acknowledge the monster that he was.

"Thirty-five." He muttered.

"Pardon?" Jessica said leaning in closer to him.

"Thirty-five." He said more loudly ... pushing away from Chestnut and towering over Jessica, staring down at her. 

"I've killed thirty-five people in my life."

"That's a lot." Jessica said. 

Jim nodded. "That was all before you. Since you came here ... I haven't killed a single person. And, before you ask, I don't miss it."

"Jimmy ... I wouldn't ask ..."

"I regret every single life I've taken Jessica. But I can't change the past. If I had to do the same thing again, I would try to find another way."

"My parents believed in justice Jim." Jessica said, moving closer to him, craning her neck so she could look in his face. "They would try their hardest to bring people to court ... for trial and then prison. But if it didn't go that way ... if they ended-up dying in a gun fight or something ... they never beat themselves up about it. It was a war ... even as a kid I knew that. I just wish we could have been on the same side."

"What's going on?" Josh demanded. Jim and Jessica jumped. They turned to see Josh and Scott, staring at them.

"I asked Jessica to be honest with me." Jim said. "And she has been. Brutally. How come you guys are back so soon?"

"It doesn't take long to buy a keyboard and a drum set." Josh said, staring at Jessica and taking a step closer. "Just how was Jessica being brutally honest?" He had locked his eyes on Jessica's, and he moved closer still. She stood sandwiched between Josh and Jim.

"She asked about previous girlfriends ... told me how her family had told her all about us and that she'd expected us to kill her right off, and then she asked me how many people I've killed. Made me feel better about the blood on my hands by letting me know her family had some on their hands too." Jim reported in a low monotone voice. He wondered how to go about suggesting Jessica for sainthood.

"Jesus Christ!" Scott hissed from behind Josh.

"Like I said. Brutally honest. But I deserve it. I was pushing her to tell me her intimate thoughts, feelings ... here they are."

"Why does it matter how many people we've killed?" Josh asked.

"Because." Jessica answered, she reached for his hand and pulled him closer. "Because I haven't killed anyone. Ever. But I used to day dream about it. About being like my parents ... catching all of you ... putting you in prison. And I'd had my chance. There had been a gun in the car ... my Mom's. Right at my feet. I'd picked it up, and my brother had been yelling, 'shoot, shoot!' but I froze. I couldn't do it. And then, they were all dead." Jessica had closed her eyes, remembering the scene. And she stood now, in the silence, eyes closed. 

Scott had pushed his way between Chestnut and the trio standing next to her, and he stood watching Jessica.

"And so you have regrets ..." he said quietly.

Jessica shook her head and opened her eyes, turning them to Scott. "No, actually I don't. I forgave myself for that a long time ago. And, I think my family forgave me too. Had I killed you ... even one of you ... I wouldn't know you now. I wouldn't get to be your girlfriend now. I have no regrets."

"Jessica, you are so far beyond being a girlfriend." Josh said. He felt an empty painful hole growing in his stomach. He could tell that Scott and Jim had it too, just by the pain etched into their expressions. Of all the things she'd said, the only thing he could seize on was the reference to being his girlfriend. Maybe the rest would just go away.

"I am?"

"Shit yes." Scott agreed.

"You're a part of me Jessica." Josh said, taking her arm in his hand and squeezing. "I'm pretty sure I can say the same for Jim and Scott. If I lost you ... it'd be like losing a piece of me." 

Scott was nodding in agreement. Jessica looked over her shoulder at Jim and saw him doing the same. She suddenly realized that it was true for her also. She hadn't been apart from them in so long, she wasn't sure she could be.

"I guess you're more like a wife than a girlfriend." Scott said reflecting on the thought. He'd never considered having a wife. But right there, in that moment, it seemed right. 

"I'm not sure about being a wife. I couldn't be your wife." Jessica said, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Scott demanded. 

"Well. For one thing, polygamy is illegal."

Silence ensued. 

"Jessica, " Jim said quietly, "we don't often conform to conventional rules. We have many polygamist marriages in the clans. And there are many countries in the world where polygamy is legal."

"Hmmm. I guess that's true." Jessica said. "But I'm sure that those marriages are still based on equality. Where the husband and the wife are equals, where the wife is free to make her own decisions and have them honored. My parents were like that. My Dad never told my Mom what to do. He valued her opinion and followed her advice. That's what being a wife means to me ... so, I can't possibly be your wife."

"Jessica ..." Scott said through gritted teeth. The urge to dominate her was flooding over him. 

"Jessica," Josh interrupted as Scott choked on his words. "You need protection from yourself most of the time. It's hard to be equal when left to your own devices, you'd break your fucking neck!" And he couldn't help but wonder if it had been her mother's same inherited stubborn streak that had led to the demise of her family. But he caught himself before he said so.

"Guys!" Jessica said raising her hands as if in surrender. "I never said I didn't want to be your wife." She looked quickly at Scott who seemed to be getting himself under control, Josh whose grasp on her forearm kept tightening, and then over her shoulder at Jim who looked like he was being washed down a river without so much as a life jacket to hold on to. "I just said that I couldn't be a real wife until we were equals. Maybe marriage just isn't the right institution for our situation ... that's all."

"So, what in your humble, unequal opinion, would be the right institution for us?" Josh demanded.

"I don't know." She said with a smile and a shrug. She said it so cheerfully, lightly. "But it doesn't matter. Maybe we're making our own institution. We love each other, that's all that matters, right?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Scott said.

"Can you repeat that?" Jim asked, stepping forward and taking her other arm, "That love part?" All the clouds seemed to have evaporated from his face and he had a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Jessica ... don't go using the L word unless you mean it." Josh said.

"But, I do mean it." Jessica said, suddenly realizing that she really did. She really loved them. That would be difficult to ignore when she avenged her parents ... some time, somehow.

"You what?" Scott demanded.  "Listen Jessica ... you'd better not be playing around with us. You know part of the reason we can't treat you as an equal is because you are always looking for some way to run away ... or kill us. And stooping to using the L word ... that's just lower than low." 

"But I don't want to run away ... I definitely don't want to kill you, and I do love you." Jessica said.

"But," Jim said, "you won't marry us."

"No. Not with the way things are with us."

"You don't want to runaway ... " Josh said. "Since when?"

"It hasn't been long." Jessica admitted. "A few weeks."

"Ahuh. And what exactly changed your mind?" Scott asked.

Jessica shrugged. "You've been a lot nicer to me." She began and took Scott's hand. "I've been ... enjoying myself a lot more ..." 

She looked at Josh and Jim. "And besides, my family is dead. Where would I be running to?" 

"Sixty-five." Scott said into the silence that had ensued. 

"What?" Jessica asked.

"Sixty-five. That's how many people I've killed."

"Sixty-one." Josh added, raising his hand.

"Do you still love us now? Still want to stay here with us?" Scott asked.

Jessica gulped. "But, you haven't ... you, don't kill any more, right?"

"That's right." Scott said moving up to her until his body was pressing hers against the side of the horse ... Josh and Jim still clutching her arms. 

"We don't kill any more but that's just by luck. Riley and Angus get stuck going out there now ... we get to stay with you. But if we were still killing, would you love us then?"

"I don't know." Jessica replied, sadness creeping into her voice. "Can't they stop? Why do they have to do it?" 

She was crying now. 

"Shit ..." Josh and Jim swore simultaneously under their breath. Scott stepped back, giving her room. 

"They do it because that's who we are ... what we are. Just like your parents were who they were." Jim said. "But it's a hard life Jess. Maybe they could be persuaded to stop ... some day."

Jessica was crying harder, wiping her eyes with her hands. 

Josh and Scott both looked at Jim, not believing that he was actually trying to set Jessica up to get Angus and Riley out of the clan lifestyle. 

Jim motioned at Jessica with his hands and mouthed "stop the crying!" to Scott. 

Scott exhaled. He'd been relieved to see Jessica cry at first. It made it seem like what she was saying about loving them could actually be true. But now he felt guilty. He hated it when she cried. It seemed like ages since she'd cried last. He didn't miss it.

"Jess," he said reaching out and pulling her into his embrace. "I'm sorry I made you cry." Jessica wrapped her arms around Scott and held on tight, burying her head into his chest, as she continued to cry.

"You know ... " Jim began. "Maybe with the right motivation, Angus and Riley could be convinced to stop too." 

Josh reached out and cuffed him. 

Scott threw him a dirty look.

"What? What?" Jim asked ducking another blow from Josh.

"You can't put this on her!" Josh hissed.

"What?" Jessica asked, lifting her face from Scott's now soaked shirt and struggling to stop her tears.

"Here," Scott said pulling the hem of his shirt up for Jessica to wipe her eyes and nose.

"Don't do it ..." Josh warned Jim in a quiet voice.

"Angus and Riley. Maybe they'd stop killing if you loved them like you love us."

"Oh no ... " Jessica said. "They hate me Jimmy, there's no way they'd pass me the salt much less stop killing for me."

"They don't hate you ..." Josh said surprised that she'd see it that way. 

"Oh yes they do. Angus looks for any reason to hurt me, and Riley just wants to control me. They certainly would not do anything for me."

"Are you nuts?" Scott asked. "Have you seen the way they look at you Jessica? They want you just as much as we do ... they just don't seem to know how to connect."

"I don't know what you think you're seeing Scott." Jessica said, "But trust me, it isn't love."

"I never said that they love you Jess. That'd come later ... what I did say is that they want you. They just don't know how to get you."

Jessica snickered at this and shook her head.

"In Angus' defense, he was hurt a while back by a woman. He's still not over that yet." Josh said.

"By Beth?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah," Jim said. "How'd you know that?"

"Angus dreams about her all the time ... he's always yelling her name."

"Well, that's part of the problem ... he's still hurt by her."

"Even so, I don't believe for a minute that they care about me in any way. They never want to do anything with me other than hurt me ... "

"Jess, you could so easily turn that around in the bedroom ..." Scott began, but Jessica shook her head and shivered. 

"Never, ever, ever." She said before Scott could finish. 

"Okay, okay," Jim said when Jessica looked like she'd cry again. "Never mind that then. Just do me a favor Jess, and try your best to like them. Try to really observe them ... see if they really do want to hurt you as much as you think they do. Riley has the dogs, Angus the car, try to help them with these things. They're going to be back in a few days Jess and things will be ... different. I really want them to be on the same page as us, but it won't happen overnight."

Jessica went from being sad to being terrified.

"I can't Jimmy ... I can't do it. They're too mean!"




Lisa Ch. 05b: Only Human cont



"Jessica ... Jessica ..." Josh said pulling her back against him, and wrapping his arms around her, rubbing his hands up and down on her arms. "It's okay. I don't think Jimmy's expecting you to do anything. Okay? Just be yourself, just relax. Everything will be okay."

"What about the riding? And the chores? I won't be able to do those things with you when they're home ..." Jessica asked.

"It's true." Scott said.

"But not for long." Jim added. "Jessica ... Riley's always asked for your obedience in order to earn rights. Us three will tell him that you have earned it as far as we're concerned ... but you'll have to earn it from him, and right away."

"Jimmy ... I haven't been able to earn a thing from Riley since I've been here. How the heck am I supposed to do that now?"

"Because before you didn't have us helping you. Listen to me ... you can do this. Just be spontaneous. Pretend you're with us ... not them."

"Spontaneous ... that's good." Scott said with a nod. "It was your spontaneity that helped me believe you were being sincere."

"And for Christ sake Jessica ... be honest." Jim continued. "No matter what they ask, tell the truth."

"Jim are you sure ..." Josh began but Jim cut him off.

"Yes, I'm sure. They can sense lies. They'll never trust you if you lie about even a little thing. If they ask if you went riding ... you tell them yes. Drinking wine, helping with chores, anything at all, tell them the truth without even hesitating."

"Okay." Jessica said in a quiet tone. She looked overwhelmed.

"Hey Jess ... relax okay?" Josh said. "It's days till they come home. And this isn't all up to you. Scott, Jim and I have our responsibility too. Between the four of us, we'll make it work. Why don't we go in and play some tunes for a while, take our minds off things for a bit."

Jessica was nodding. "But, what about the fence?"

"It's okay Jess, Scott and I can take care of it later." Jim said.

"But isn't that how the wild dogs are getting on your land? To protect the animals we should really go fix it now. Can't we play music tonight?"

"Sure we can." Josh said, shaking his head. "I should have known you'd be stubborn about it."

Jessica nodded, not sure if Josh was paying her a compliment on complaining.



And then no one moved. 

The men just stood looking at Jessica. 

She stood looking at them. 

She felt like they wanted more from her ... needed more from her, but they seemed unable to say so. Though physically none of them were touching her any more, Jessica felt the presence of their eyes on her. When she looked at Scott, his eyes locked on hers and she gasped from the sheer force of it. All the times he'd touched her, entered her and brought her pleasure were stored in his stare and his eyes penetrated her soul ... searching, touching, feeling, stroking in the same way. She felt like she'd be lost in his stare for eternity, but then a force was pulling her from her right. Unbelievably she managed to pull her eyes away from Scott and look to Jim. And to her shock, she found the same thing. Jim who was so much more gentle than the others ... who never put as much stock in sex as the others ... his eyes bore into hers and she felt their physical presence inside of her. She had a hard time breathing ... she felt physically prodded. And then she felt the pull from her left. In the brief moments before she turned her attention to Josh, she took in Jim's body. It was hard, rigid. All the muscles coiled into one hard mass, leaning toward her. The short sleeved shirt he wore was plastered to his chest as though it had suddenly become too small and was about to rip. As she arced her eyes past Scott she registered the same for him. His muscles were bulging and she had the strange feeling that at any moment they would rip her to shreds. By the time her eyes landed on Josh, she was panting. She couldn't catch her breath ... and his eyes invaded her also. She endured his probing for what seemed like forever, but then couldn't take it anymore. She felt exhausted, like her body had been running for hours and was being pushed passed its limits. Josh was also a mass of coiled muscles, seemingly ready to pounce on her.

"I'm sorry," she panted when she just couldn't take it any longer. "Is there something more? Did I forget something?"

No one answered. 

"Please ... " Jessica said, pulling her eyes from Josh and scanning Scott and Jim. "I don't know what you want from me. Did I do something wrong?"

"You've said a lot ... " Jim finally said. "A lot of stuff that we have to find some way to believe."

"But ... how do I make you believe it?"

"I guess it will take time." Jim said and with that the intensity of his stare lessened. "There's no magic pill for this ..." he said more to Scott and Josh than Jessica. "Why don't you continue saddling Chestnut, Jessica."

"Okay ..." Jessica said, glad for a chance to get some relief from the intensity of the moment. As Jessica moved past Scott to get the saddle, she noticed that neither his nor Josh's expression had changed much.

"Let's get our horses ready ..." Jim said and motioned to Scott and Josh to follow him. 

"Time?" Josh asked when they'd moved to stand by Jim's horse. "I can't wait for time Jim. I need to know now."

"I know." Jim said. "Me too. So, we're going to have to be drastic."

"Drastic?" Scott asked, not sure he liked the sound of that.

"Yup," Jim said, while pulling hard on the tether of the saddle.

"How drastic?" Josh asked.

"Well, if you are anything like me, you want proof that Jessica loves you. The only way that I can think of getting that is if she can prove that she really has no intention of running away."

"Right ..." Scott said when Jim paused, "so?"

"What's the only way we can be sure that she has no intention of running away?" Jim asked.

"You can't be serious!" Josh said.

Scott looked back and forth between Josh and Jim. 

"Okay, I'm slow here. One of you tell me what the hell you're talking about!"

"Jim wants to give her the chance to escape ..." Josh said in horror.

"Many chances ..." Jim said. "One won't be enough. We have what, three days before Angus and Riley get back. We have to be sure that she means what she said. The only way to do that is to leave the door wide open."

"But, what if she does run away?" Scott asked.

"Then, we catch her and bring her back. And, we know she lied."

"I'm not sure I can handle it if she's lied." Josh said. He hadn't even been so bold in his comic book. Opening the door, letting Princess acisseJ free, his alter ego in the comic had never even entertained that idea. 

"I don't think any of us can." Jim said, and then shook his head. "I'm not even going to think about that. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt."

"If she runs away and we don't get her back before Angus and Riley return ... they'll kill her Jim." Scott said.

"I know." Jim said.

"I may kill her myself ... " Josh muttered.

"You'll have to get in line." Jim replied.

"I'm ready ..." Jessica said coming around front of Chestnut and taking her reins. 

"That's great Jess," Jim said. "We're not quite done yet. Why don't you take Chestnut and hitch her outside. We'll be there in a minute."

"Jim!" Scott hissed.

Jessica looked between Scott, Josh and Jim. Jim looked resigned to something, Scott and Josh looked anything but.

"Ummm. I have to go to the bathroom." Jessica added. Both Scott and Josh took a step forward to accompany her.

"Go ahead Jess." Jim said, stopping them in their tracks. "We'll be done with the horses by the time you come back."

Jessica stared at Jim in bewilderment. Scott was staring at the ground, body rigid, hands balled into fists. Josh had his eyes squeezed shut and looked like he was counting under his breath.

"By myself?" she finally managed.

"Yup. Just make it fast."

"Okay ..." Jessica said in an uncertain tone. She looked at Scott and Josh ... neither moved. Jessica shrugged and led Chestnut out of the barn.

"I can't do this!" Scott exploded and moved for the door.

"Stop!" Jim ordered, grabbing Scott by the arm. He held his other arm out to block Josh's path.  

"Just get your horses ready. If she's not out by the time we are, we'll go find her. You want to know, don't you?" he added when neither Scott nor Josh had moved.

"Mother fucker!" Scott swore under his breath as he and Josh moved to nearby stalls.

They'd saddled their horses in record time ... all the while listening for the sound of a horse riding away.

"We're done ... let's go!" Josh said, his rifle in one hand, leading his horse past Jim's, followed by Scott. They burst through the barn door, afraid of what they'd find ... or not find. They stopped short. Jessica stood near the fence, petting Chestnut.

"Did you go to the bathroom?" Jim asked.

"Yup. I'm all set to go." She replied and swung up into the saddle.

"So far, so good." Jim muttered to Scott and Josh as he to swung into the saddle.

"I take it the supplies are already down there?" Josh asked, relief evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I took it down in the truck last night." Jim replied. 

"Then let's go ..." Josh said, sliding his rifle into the sheath on the saddle. Scott was smiling and Jessica was glad that whatever had bothered them earlier seemed to have vanished.

As usual, Jessica never went anywhere slowly on horseback and she had them all riding at a near dead run. She slowed enough to let Jim ride next to her, and lead the way. As they crested the top of a slight hill, Jim pulled up short.

"Stop!" he yelled. Josh almost ran into him. Jessica and Scott had to slow and arc back.

"What's wrong?" Josh demanded.

"Look!" Jim said pointing into the distance. It took a moment for them to find what he was pointing at. Off in the distance stood three dogs, staring at them.

"They run in a pack?" Scott asked. "I thought it was one or two loners ..."

"Bastards ..." Jim said lowering his rile. He'd pulled it and looked through the site for a while at the dogs. "Too far." From the corner of his eye he noticed Jessica roll her eyes.

"And I bet if we get closer, they'll disappear." Scott added.

"Do you think you can hit them?" Jim asked Jessica his voice reflecting his surprise.

"Member of the champion rifle team ... remember?" she said holding her hand out. Jim passed her the rifle. 

Jessica turned Chestnut to the right so she sat turned at ninety degrees at the waist, and raised the rifle. She looked through the site for what seemed to Jim to be a far too short time, and pulled the trigger. The big dog that had been standing and staring at them dropped. The one nearest him began to run to the right. Jessica tracked him with the rifle, and fired again. The dog dropped. She swung back toward the disappearing backside of the third dog. She watched for a few minutes and then lowered the rifle. 

"Too far." She said.

"You don't say." Josh said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"How the hell did you do that?" Jim stammered. 

"Champion rifle team ..." Scott said with a wink at Jessica. She smiled. He held out his hand and Jessica handed him the rifle.

"Not for two years ..." Jim said taking the rifle Scott now handed to him. "You haven't shot a gun for a long time Jessica, what the hell?"

"It's like riding a horse ... you don't forget." Jessica said, not able to help the feeling of pride that washed over her at the reactions from the men.

"Let's go get them then ..." Jim said, shaking his head as they started at a run again toward the dog's bodies.

"Deader than a door nail ..." Scott said, leaning over the first body.

"Yup ..." Josh agreed at the second body.

Jessica swung out off of Chestnut and moved next to Scott.

"Does it look like they have rabies?" She asked.

"It's hard to tell." Scott said. "If they do, it's really early onset. No foam around the snout."

"But they're near starved to death." Jim said having followed Jessica. "You can see every one of the bones in their ribcage."

"Poor things." Jessica said squatting beside the first fallen dog.

"Well, something isn't right." Josh said coming to join them. "There's plenty of food in these woods. Deer, rabbits ... there's no reason for them to starve."

"Hello there!" a voice called. 

The men snapped to attention ... guns raised, they moved to stand in front of Jessica, to hide her. Just before they blocked her view Jessica saw three men on the other side of the fence, rifles in their hands.

"Hey, hey!" the same voice said in alarm as the men's rifles fixed on them.

"This is private property!" Scott said in a far less then friendly voice. Jessica flinched, embarrassed that Scott was being so rude. "You're trespassing!"

"We're on the other side of the fence friend." Another voice said. "Technically we're not ..."

"What do you want?" Josh demanded. Again with the rudeness. 

"Well, we heard the gunshots." The same voice replied. "We've been out hunting these same dogs. Thought maybe you got luckier than we did ... and it appears to be the case. You must be some shot mister ... we've tried several times and were never able to get close enough to hit them."

Jim's mind was racing. Scott and Josh were in fight mode. Their posture and tone told Jim that without a doubt there would be bloodshed. Even if it ended in their favor, and that was questionable considering the men at the fence were armed and looked capable of defending themselves, the damage to Jessica and their improving relationship would be irreparable. Of that Jim was certain. He could only think of one way to avoid that. And even in the split second he had to decide he could see the other advantages of his decision. They wanted proof Jessica didn't want to leave them, here was the ultimate test.

"It wasn't us." Jim spoke up finally. He stepped to the side, reached back for Jessica's arm and pulled her forward. "Jessica got them ... both."

Jessica heard Scott grit his teeth, and a low, rumbling growl escaped Josh.  

"Afternoon ma'am," the man who had been speaking said.

"Hi," Jessica said, hardly believing that she was talking to someone other than Josh, Jim, Scott, Angus or Riley. She looked at the three men and immediately decided that they were three generations of the same family. It looked like a grandfather, father, and a young teen.

"You must be some shot ..." the man continued.

"She is." Scott interrupted. "The dogs are dead Mister ... I think you can move on now."

Jessica winced. So rude!

"Do you know what's wrong with the dogs?" Jessica asked, trying to lessen the edge Scott had put everyone on.

"No ma'am," the man answered now completely ignoring Scott and Josh. "We were hoping to take them in to the vet and get an autopsy done. If it's okay with you ... we could take them off your hands."

"Sure ..." Jessica said when none of the men answered and the silence dragged on. "Do you have some way to move them?"

"We have horses back on the road. We only live half a mile up the road ... neighbors ... " the man said, with emphasis as his eyes scanned over Jim, Josh and Scott. "If we get them there we can get the county wildlife officer to come and take them."

"Great ..." Jessica said and looked at Scott, and Josh. They stood, staring at the men, guns still raised. Jim had lowered his gun but didn't seem interested in communicating beyond his initial interaction.

Jessica sighed. "Come on in ... " she said motioning the strangers over, "I'll give you a hand." As she moved to crouch over the first dog both Scott and Josh reached out to stop her, but missed. The strangers were busy climbing through the hole in the fence and didn't notice.  

"Hi, I'm Peter." The older man said, crouching down in front of Jessica. Extending his hand.

"I'm Jessica," Jessica said taking his hand and shaking it. 

Jessica heard a growl from behind her. It sounded like Josh, Scott and Jim at the same time. Peter didn't seem to notice.

"That's my grandson Ricky ..." Peter said indicating the teenager standing beside him.

"Hi," Jessica said extending her hand to him. He took it and nodded.

"And my son Steven." Jessica shook his hand also.

"Nice to meet you." Jessica said. Although the natural and polite thing to do would be to introduce the men ... she didn't think it would be a good idea. "Should we start with this one?" She asked hoping to distract them from the social faux pas.

She began to reach under the bum of the dog when she felt a firm grip on her arm.

"I'll do it ..." Jim said quietly into her ear. Jessica stood up and stepped out of the way as Jim and Peter hefted the body into the air.

"I'll give you a hand with the other one ..." Scott said from behind Jessica and she saw Steven nod in agreement. 

Scott, Steven and Ricky moved toward the other body. And soon they all disappeared through the hole in the fence and out of view.

"Get on Chestnut Jessica." Josh said from behind her. His voice had been controlled, calm, but when Jessica turned and saw his face, she froze. Josh was livid. His face was bright red ... veins and eyes bulging. She hadn't seen him this mad in so long. "Get on the damn horse Jessica!" he barked.

Jessica swung onto Chestnut. Josh didn't follow. He stood in the clearing, weight resting on one hip, rifle gripped firmly in his hand, staring at the hole in the fence and waiting. Within minutes Scott and Jim came back through the hole. 

"They're gone ..." Jim said as he and Scott neared. As Jim was about to pass by Josh, Josh raised his arms to the side and smashed the butt of his rifled into the side of Jim's head. Jim fell like a brick.

"No!" Jessica screamed and flew off the horse, running toward Jim but Scott caught her around the waist and held her hard against him. She tried to struggle free but she could barely move, Scott's arm pinning her in place against him.

"What are you doing Josh?" she demanded. "Jimmy, Jimmy, are you okay?" Jessica asked her voice tinged with hysteria. Jim groaned and began to move on the ground, bringing his hand to his head. 

Hearing the tone of Jessica's voice ... seeing her face, Josh began to regret hitting Jim ... but he was so mad.

"What the hell?" Jim asked as he slowly got to his feet, shaking his head.

"Jimmy!" Jessica cried, and now tears were running down her face.

"It's okay Jess," he said raising his hand to her. "Calm down ... it's okay. I think Josh has something he'd like to say to me ..."

"Damn right I do!" Josh thundered shooting daggers at Jim with his eyes, but unable to keep from shifting his eyes to Jessica. He hadn't meant to make her cry. And he realized now that hitting Jim like that in front of her had been a big mistake too. He should have waited until they were alone. "What the hell was that all about? Why would you fucking introduce Jessica to the neighbors? They'd barely seen her. We could've gotten away with barely any contact. Instead you introduce her! Have her shaking their fucking hands! Are you insane? Do you realize that if Riley or Angus were here, that would have been a bullet to your head rather than the butt end of the rifle?"

Jim was raising his hands, palms out, in surrender.

"I appreciate your restraint ... really I do." Jim was saying while blinking and shaking his head. The blow had been anything but restrained. He was feeling woozy. But he noticed the terror on Jessica's face. Scott held her in a vice grip, she could barely move, and had in fact given up on it. Instead she hung from his waist, dangling like a rabbit in the jaws of a wolf.

"For starters ... can you put the damn gun down!" Jim said.

"No I can't." Josh replied, anger still burning in his voice. "I'm not sure I'm done with it yet." Jim tilted his head toward Jessica. 

Seeing the expression of stark terror etched onto her face made Josh promptly drop the gun. "I'm not going to use it Jessica." Josh said, the fire gone out of his voice. "I'm just really pissed right now."