Journey to Passion

Chapter Fifteen - Escape

Severus looked at the Muggle clothing Jessica bought for him while she'd been in London. He held the dark grey shirt and black jacket up against his chest and looked at Jessica for her approval. He inquisitively raised an eyebrow and turned the corner of his mouth up into what Jessica thought looked like a smile.

She gently began nodding her head and wore a gleaming smile of approval. "It's perfect," she said. "Now all we have to do is find some time to venture into Muggle territory. I'll show you where I was raised, where I went to school and I'll take you any place you'd like to go."

Folding the garments and placing them on the couch, Severus looked tentatively at Jessica before settling down on his back next to her on the enchanted rug. "Will the Headmaster allow you to leave Hogwarts again this year?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and enfolded her in his tender embrace.

Jessica slowly shrugged and nestled her head down into his chest. "I hope so, as long as wherever I go you go along with me. He trusts you with my life and so do I." She turned her eyes up and looked at him.

"Do you suppose you will ever be completely safe again beyond the outskirts of Hogwarts?" Severus asked cautiously.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. Her eyes sunk down to the floor and Severus saw the doubt in her eyes. Once again, Lucius' words repeated in her head until a caring hand touched her cheek.

"Are you sure that this is what you want to do tonight?" he asked her tenderly.

Jessica's glossy eyes turned back up to him. "Of course," was her sincere reply. "I'll no longer let anyone stop me from wanting this to happen tonight."

Severus' expression twitched in incomprehension. He sat up on his side and rolled Jessica onto her back, setting her head onto a pillow. He looked down at Jessica and met her gaze in the flickering firelight. "What are you talking about, Love?"

The sound of his soft, velvet voice naming her so affectionately reached deep down into her soul and threatened to melt her from the inside out. Jessica squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and bit down on the corner of her lip. Why had she said that? She had chosen to say the worst thing at the worst time at the worst moment, when everything about that particular moment had been perfect.

Jessica opened her eyes when she felt a warm hand enclose upon her hip. Severus began to gently caress her and massaged his fingers into the soft material of her evening gown. His intimate touch sent her pulse hammering. Jessica could feel the flow of emotion spread through her body and practically erupt where Severus aimed to please her.

"Well?" Severus continued as he glided his hand further up her body until he was touching the bare, silken skin just below her arm. He tucked his fingers inside the opening of her tiny sleeve and rubbed the delicate material between his fingers.

His intimate touch and his closeness was so overwhelming and so powerful Jessica couldn't think of anything other than what was going to happen in the next few hours. If he hadn't captivated her with his avid touch, Jessica would have told him what had happened yesterday in Diagon Alley. Instead, she reached a soft hand up to his face and ran her fingers along his jawbone.

"Severus," she began and brushed her fingers over his face time after time. "Please, just kiss me."

He didn't know what she was talking about before, and quite frankly, he didn't care. All that mattered to him now was that she was there with him - alone - in his chambers - ready and willing to make love to him. Barely a second passed before he dipped his head down and planted a kiss directly on her lips. Severus closed his eyes and let his breath out refreshingly as he motioned his head around in tiny circles, indulging in the full sensation of branding Jessica with his passionate kiss. His hands entangled in her hair and, if it was at all possible, pulled her even closer into their kiss.

In the midst of open-mouthed kisses consumed with frantic, twisting tongues Jessica wrapped her arms around his neck and moaned deep from the back of her throat. She held on tight and made no effort to let Severus back away from her until it came time for a desperate breath of air.

Severus broke his lips away from hers for only a moment as he turned his head aside and drew in a couple of deep breaths. Jessica did the same and brought her hands down along each side of his neck and then began dragging her fingers down along the centre of his chest. She managed to free two buttons from their place before Severus pressed his chest hard against her body and resumed the intimate touch of their lips.

Just behind his ears, Jessica combed her fingers up into his hair and made fists with his long, black wisps tight between her fingers.

Cautiously, but by no means gently, Severus pressed the length of his body against Jessica and let her feel the rigid evidence of his yearning for her. The way he made her feel before when his strong hands had curled around her neck paled in comparison to the tingly, sensational eruption of desire he caused her when he drew his hands around the back of her shoulders and thrust himself slowly, but powerfully against her.

Her back arched and a long, heavy moan sounded from her mouth as he advanced and retreated time and time again. Petrified that the sound of her erotic moan alone would set him free, Severus stopped and looked deep into Jessica's eyes before engulfing his hands around her face. He kept her face secure in the frame of his hands and let the brand new thrust between their mouths imitate what he really wanted to do to her.

Jessica could hear him groan as he slowly dragged his lips away from her mouth and began creating a trail of kisses that followed down to the line of her breastbone. "Severus," she whispered as he dotted her with an abundance of soft, open-mouthed kisses along her bare skin. "I'm in love with you," she concluded and curled her hands around his head.

Her eyes closed and a smile spread across her lips when she felt the wealth of his passionate emotions ignite and then surge through her body like an electric current. Although he didn't say anything, the emotions she sensed from him wrought far more passion and warmth than any composition of words could ever create.

With his hand dragging just above the enchanted rug, Severus slithered his hand down the side of Jessica's body and brought her leg up at the knee. He ran his hand back down along her thigh, squeezing her at random and then reached his hand back up along her body, pausing momentarily to knead the breast crowning her heart.

It was the most intimate way he had ever touched her. Severus slowly let his fingers explore the young, firm femininity of Jessica's body. He benevolently spread his hand out across her rise and then just as tenderly brought each finger back up to the pinnacle of her breast. A deep, erotic moan escaped from the back of his throat when he felt the hardened nipple beneath the thin, silky material form between his fingertips.

"Jessica," he whispered, speaking her name as slowly as possible. Severus enfolded her in his arms and bestowed her with one more kiss before nestling his head on the pillow right next to hers. "I ache for you. Let's not wait any longer." Jessica was amazed at the thrill it gave her to hear just one seductive whisper.

A small, warm hand reached over to his chest and began unfastening buttons where she had left off. "There's no one holding you back," Jessica said, although in some aspect, it wasn't entirely true. But what did that matter, really? What happened in the next little while in Severus' chambers was going to stay in those chambers and no one would ever know about it. There wasn't a Death Eater anywhere near Hogwarts!

Severus sat up and reached over to the same table that hosted their half empty bottle of champagne. Jessica sat up on her elbows and watched the man who would soon become her lover.

"More champagne?" she asked with a sly smile spread across her lips.

"No," Severus said and shook his head. "You have had enough. Unfortunately this particular concoction does not mix too well with alcohol." He held up a small crystal glass no larger than a shooter and gently swirled it around. "However, with the amount you've had already it will still be perfectly effective. Go on and drink it all," he said and handed her the tiny glass. "And don't spit any of it out," he warned just before the rim of the glass touched her lips. "That is exactly the proper dosage."

Without another thought, Jessica tipped her head back and quickly swallowed every drop of clear liquid that was in the glass. Once it was down and the taste lingered behind on her tongue, Jessica made a sour face and coughed several times. "Bloody hell, Severus!" she cursed as she bluntly handed the empty glass back to him. "What the bugger was that, battery acid?"

Severus took the glass and set it back on the table. "A contraceptive, you silly girl," he said curtly. "What else did you think I would be giving you at this time?"

"Not something that tastes like dragon's piss!" Jessica said and wiped the back of her hand over her mouth. She continued to mutter curses out of the corner of her mouth and swallow the rest of the foul aftertaste.

"Well if you had given me more than a day's notice I would have had the time to prepare something different... perhaps something tasteless!" Severus looked down at his shirt and hastily began popping the remainder of the buttons out of place. Jessica watched his hands fumble in frustration and noticeably cleared her throat.

He looked over at her and raised his eyebrows and nodded towards her dress, gesturing for her to do the same. "Well," he said impatiently, "go on, slip it off."

As round as a pair of full moons, Jessica eyes stared back in shock and a dismayed sigh escaped from her mouth. "I will not," she assured.

Severus fretfully pulled his arms out from the sleeves and anxiously threw the white dress shirt aside. "Well I'm sorry to inform you Miss Van Eden, but that is the only way this is going to get done."

Jessica sat up on her knees and settled her hands overtop of his before he could start pulling away at the belt looped around the waist of his trousers. He stopped for the moment and looked into her genial eyes. She smiled adorningly and rocked her head back and forth. "No, it isn't," she assured. "Come on, everything was perfect a moment ago. Don't be like this now." Jessica put her hands around his waist and pressed her fingers into the bare skin of his back. He was warm. He was very warm. Pressing her chest up against his, Jessica smiled up at him again and began swaying her hips from side to side. "I've never been with a man before," she whispered and then drew a long, slender finger down the length of his nose.

"I know," Severus assured in a calm voice. He reached his hand up and cupped her shoulders tight. "You're right, everything was perfect a moment ago."

Jessica reached her hands down and leisurely began sliding his belt through the loops herself. "I may still be a virgin, but I know the difference between having sex and making love. What you just said to me a moment ago isn't something a man would ever say to the woman he was about to make love to, is it?" Jessica pulled his belt through the last loop and then threw it aside as an alluring smile crept onto her face.

"I'm sorry," Severus apologized. He pressed a kiss into the centre of her forehead and listened to the snap that followed as Jessica popped the button free at the top of his pants. "I haven't been a virgin for a long time, but I suppose hearing you say it like that makes me realize that I have never made love before."

"Good," Jessica said and kissed the tip of his nose. "Then this will be the first time for both of us. However, I do stand by what I said before. I won't let you have anything until I hear you whisper those three lovely words to me." Her smile teased his senses. Severus could barely remember those words he'd been practicing all afternoon.

For an instant he couldn't move. It was Jessica's hands gliding down the nakedness of his chest that finally reawakened his senses. Her touch reminded him of how eager he was to make love to her before he'd made such a fool of himself wanting to rush into the night.

"Jessica." He placed her down on her back, her head resting comfortably on the pillow and looked deep into her eyes as he toyed with her hair. "I..." He'd have been able to continue if her face hadn't suddenly coiled up into a sour expression. Severus backed away a little when Jessica sat up and pressed her hands into her stomach just below her naval.

"Oh!" She gasped for a breath of air and clenched Severus' arm in her hand. Her grip was far stronger than he had ever suspected she was capable of. "Severus, what's happening? What did you give me?"

"It's all right Jessica," he assured and pried his arm free of her iron grip. "What's happening to you is perfectly normal." Severus put his hands over her shoulders and gently lay her back down while hushing in her ear. "It will pass in a moment."

"It feels so strange," she told him. "Everything feels numb. Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen?"

"Shh," Severus whispered and brushed his hand along the top of her head. "Just relax. Breathe, and listen to the sound of my voice." With his other hand Severus began caressing her abdomen. He whispered sweet nothings into her ear until the numbing sensation passed.

Jessica closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "How long will it last?" she asked him.

"A fortnight," he told her. "Like I said, if you had given me more time to prepare, I would have given you something else. There are several contraceptives I could have concocted if I'd had a few more days to prepare them. Some potions last an entire cycle."

With his strong fingers framing her face, Severus leaned down towards Jessica and closed his eyes. Just before his lips touched hers, Jessica sighed from the back of her throat and gave in to all of the sensations that were rushing ferociously through her body. She wanted him to kiss her unlike anyone else he'd ever kissed. She wanted to belong to him in a way no other woman had ever been a part of him. There was no other man she wanted to belong to. Not one.

Severus settled his hand over the bare skin of her ankle and gently eased up her leg pushing the hem of her dress up and over the rise of her knee. Once his hand slid down to embrace around her hip Jessica felt a surge of sparkling energy sore through her body. The touch of Severus' had upon the bare skin of her thigh sent pleasant shivers up her spine.

Warmed by the blazing fire, Jessica's hot skin felt so smooth and as soft and as creamy as it looked. Severus exhaled deeply and closed his eyes as he rubbed his hand along her leg. His sigh turned into a long moan that penetrated right through to her soul. Even just touching the outside of her leg and up along her waist felt incredibly intimate. Jessica could feel the swarm of Severus' hot, passionate emotions and thought that he might explode once his hand touched the far more intimate crevices of her body.

With one arm beneath her neck and the other holding her close, Severus pressed tiny kisses into the soft skin of her neck where her pulse beat rapidly. Jessica's arms wrapped tight around his body not giving him the slightest opportunity to part from her.

Yearning to feel those very sensations that shrouded over him and to experience the deepest form of intimacy with Jessica, Severus hurried to turn Jessica onto her side. The hand behind her neck found the tiny zipper in the back of her dress and slowly began to tug it downward. Severus unzipped all the way down to the small of her back and then tenderly began slipping her arms through the sleeves. Jessica eagerly obliged and helped Severus shed her of the pink evening gown. Blood pounded through her veins once the weightless material slipped over her bosom to expose the pale pink lingerie she had bought especially for his delight.

With his hands practically trembling, Severus dropped the dress next to his white shirt and sat back on his heels to feast his eyes upon the completely desirable, ivory-skinned beauty before him. He exhaled again and set his hands down on his knees.

Jessica lay perfectly still, her hands held just above her head and her eyes watching him carefully. "What are you looking at?" she asked with a devilish grin spread on her lips.

He couldn't help but smile. The elegant silk and lace lingerie she wore was severely arousing. It fit her perfectly. Something about the way her flesh glowed in the light of the fire made Severus feel like this was more charm and beauty than he could handle.

"Do you know how perfect you are?" Severus asked her as he caressed her with his eyes.

"I'm not perfect," she insisted. "We both know I'm not."

"I think you're perfect," Severus reassured. He sprawled down beside her and instantly began delivering kisses to guarantee his sincere remark.

Once his hands grazed over her flesh and began peeling away at the soft pink lingerie, Jessica felt a slight burning sensation begin to swell in the small of her back. She jumped at the sudden pain and then felt is cease the moment Severus stopped undressing her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Did I hurt you?" He looked at her as if he couldn't believe he had done anything to make her jump.

"No," Jessica told him. "It was nothing." Before when her Dark Mark began to burn, it never stopped as quickly as it did just now. Perhaps it had been her imagination, or perhaps it had just been her nerves reminding her of what Lucius had told her yesterday. Either way, it was gone.

Severus resumed his position overtop of her and pulled one of the lace straps down over her shoulder. He kissed all along her arm until her hand slipped through the strap and did the same with the other arm. Soft giggles escaped from Jessica's mouth when the ends of Severus' hair tickled her neck. Her hands combed through his hair and massaged his temples while his lips expertly spread delicate kisses all about her upper body.

At the same instant his hand reached up and crowned over the feminine curve of her body Jessica felt the quivering of Severus' sensual sigh vibrate through her entire body. He squeezed her tenderly and wrapped his mouth around her taut nipple, suckling where he knew it would please her most.

"You're perfect," he reminded as his tongue swivelled about her aroused skin.

His arousing gestures gave her all the pleasure she could ask for, but simultaneously wrought back the blazing sensation she'd learned to fear so long ago. Jessica squeezed her eyes shut and her arms tight around Severus' head in hopes that the feeling would pass as quickly as it had before.

With her eyes closed, a vision flashed across the pitch black of her subconscious. Too fast to see what it was, Jessica's eyes popped back open and her sudden cry of terror grabbed Severus' attention immediately.

"Jessica, what is it?" Severus leaned up next to her and gaped in confusion at the look of shock on her face.

Another vision flashed before her eyes and practically scared the senses out of her. A hooded figure swooped towards her and let out an evil cackle as its dark, haunting robes swept over her head. With her eyes glazed over with fear and panic, Jessica howled out in pain as the Dark Mark burned blacker than the pupils of Severus' horror-struck eyes.

His strong hands fastened her down against the rug and he shook her shoulders ferociously trying to drive some sort of sense into her. "Jessica!" He watched tears seep through the corners of her eyes and let out a cry of his own when Jessica grasped his arms with her hands and drove her fingernails deep into his bare skin. "Jessica! Listen to me! It's Severus, I'm right here. I am right here!" He repeated himself over and over saying anything he could so that she'd hear his familiar voice.

Jessica didn't hear a word he said until the horrifying images ceased. In a blink they had vanished and Jessica was left listening to the pleading shouts that Severus howled in a volume that had nearly matched her own. He stopped as soon as he saw her looking right at him.

He let go of her and immediately backed away. "What happened, Jessica?" he asked and put a caring hand down on her knee. "Are you all right?"

"No," she uttered in a shattered whimper. "Severus, he knows. He knows I'm here." She turned her back just enough to show Severus the glowing Dark Mark that still pained her beyond imagination. "I've got to get out of here."

Her hands shaking in terror, Jessica began gathering her clothes and rushed to dress herself. Her unexpected and unwanted announcement wrought a very strong reaction. Severus reached over quickly and tied his hands around Jessica's trembling body.

"Jessica, stop it. What are you doing?" He held her tight and leaned his head over her shoulder. "Who knows you're here?"

Jessica turned her head his way. She swallowed hard and felt another warm trickle of tears dribble down her cheeks. "Voldemort. He's coming for me."