Lisa Ch. 07a: Jessica

"I don't know about that." Angus said. "Your head butts damn near broke my nose."

Jessica dipped her head. A slight smile curved her lips and it was easy to see that she liked Angus' praise, "I'd like to keep your nose out of it." She said to Angus with a giggle. Looking at Riley again she added, "I like the sport of it I guess. I would really appreciate you teaching me Riley, if you would."

"You got it. We'll include self-defense with our work outs." Riley said kissing her forehead. "If you want to sit with Jim Jess, go ahead."

"Okay." She said rolling onto her toes and pecking Riley's lips and moving to the sofa and settling next to Jim.

"I'm fine Jess." He wheezed. Jessica looked tired. Really tired. They'd been at this for over an hour. Slipping his arm around her, he pulled Jessica to him. "So to wrap up. We'll do as much together as we can, still have one on one time, and we'll start to take Jess out. We follow the same veto rule as we established before. And since we're doing intel only, Josh, Scott and I will rotate in for work. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded.

"We can rotate into work, but for the next two weeks none of us are going anywhere. I'm going to call Paul and tell him we're on vacation." Riley said.

"Good." Angus said.

"Okay, so Scott you got that paper and pen?" Jim asked.

"Yup." Scott said taking it from the coffee table.

"Ok. Leave a line long enough for us to all sign our names." Jim said, "How do we want to word it?"

"We commit the following to one another ..." Scott began, writing as he spoke and then glancing up, pen poised over the paper, waiting or instructions on what to write next.

"To be honest and devoted to one another." Angus said. "All resentments voiced and addressed."

"To treat each other fairly." Riley added.

"To honor and protect one another over all else." Josh said.

"To never leave one another, promising to resolve any and all disagreements using the veto rule." Jim added.

"To cherish Jessica with every fiber of our being." Scott said, holding Jessica's gaze before adding his line to the oath, the other men grunting their agreement.

"To build a life together that surpasses any we would have had independently." Jessica added. "Filled with more love and happiness than we could have ever imagined."

"Do you really mean that?" Angus asked quietly.

"I do." Jessica said. "This is our version of marriage Angus. Marriage is a union that makes all party's lives better than what they would have been without the marriage. And the cherish one Scott ... we have to all cherish one another. You're all committing to one another and you all deserve to be cherished."

Scott nodded, crossing out the sentence and rewriting it to include all of them. "Ready?" He asked when he finished. Riley took the needle out of the first aid box and cleaned it with antiseptic. The men moved to the sofa and stood semi-circle around it. Jessica stood next to Scott. Josh to his right, then Riley, then Angus, Jim looked up at them from the sofa.

"Can you do it yourself?" Riley asked Jessica, handing her the needle.

"Yes ... I'll try not to faint ... kidding!" she said with a laugh when Riley looked horrified. "I'm sorry ... it was a joke."

Riley shook his head, "Jokes like that are liable to earn you a spanking." Riley said while his mouth shifted into a sultry crooked grin, "But it won't be on your ass." He added looking pointedly at the v between Jessica's legs.

Jessica followed his gaze and although her cheeks blushed she looked back at Riley in a way that left little doubt that she wanted that kind of spanking.

"Looks like we have ourselves a naughty girl." Angus said, taking a good long look at the arch in Jessica's pants that covered her pussy. Sliding his eyes up to hers, impressed by the depth of lust he saw in them and frustrated that he couldn't just get to the job of spanking her, he added in a deep guttural tone, "Prick your finger baby so we can pledge our oath and fucking consummate our marriage."

Jessica shuddered, her whole body shaking at the tone of Angus' voice.

"Let me help you babe." Scott said in an equally sexy tone. Taking her hand he held a finger up. "Go ahead."

Jessica pricked her finger and a small bubble of blood balanced on the tip of her finger. She passed the needle to Scott who pricked his finger and passed it to Josh. Once all the fingers were ready Jim held up the paper with the oath and they all read it aloud together. They read it slowly, clearly, and despite the raging hormones that had been rampant moments earlier, everyone sobered, saying the words with conviction. Looking at one another the men and Jessica finished the oath in a hushed reverence. Turning to Scott Jessica held her pricked finger up and when Scott held his up they pressed the bloody tips together. Minutes later they had all exchanged blood.

"You sign first." Jim said handing the paper to Jessica. Jessica signed with the pen but then pressed her bloody finger under her name, leaving her fingerprint.

"Good idea." Josh said and the men did the same.

When everyone had signed Scott pulled Jessica into his arms and dipping her he kissed her. Long and deep. "Our first kiss as husband and wife." He said in a breathless murmur when he finally lifted his lips from hers, "Thank you baby ... with all my heart, thank you." It occurred to him that there was no reason to not hold off on the gangbang, now that they were married, but Jessica looked tired.

Jessica barely got "Thank you too," Out before Josh took her from Scott and pulled her in for a deep and thorough kiss.

"You've made me so happy Jess. Thank you." Josh panted against her lips.

Jessica nodded, leaning against him, panting too. Riley held his hand out to her and Jessica took it, melting into his arms. "Thank you Jess, for making this oath with us, for letting us call you our wife." He kissed her, gently, it was easy to see that fatigue was overtaking her. When he passed her to Angus she was fighting to keep her eyes open.

Angus dipped her, threading his fingers in the her hair and holding her in place as he kissed her slow and deep. "I'll show you the full extent of my appreciation tomorrow Jess." He mumbled against her lips, feeling tired also. "But I am happy that you accepted me as your husband ... more happy than I think you'll ever know." He helped Jessica sit on the sofa next to Jim and slide under Jim's arm. She looked up at him, and they kissed.

"Thank you Jess ... for accepting me as your husband." Jim said brushing his lips over hers.

Jessica raised her hand and caressed his battered face, "Thank you too."

Riley looked down at the paper containing their oath and signatures.

"We should get that framed." Riley said.

"I'll get a frame tomorrow." Angus said.

"Can you come up with a design for the tattoo?" Scott asked Josh.

Josh nodded, "After I get some sleep."

"We'll get the rings tomorrow too." Jim said, "In time for the pool hall."

"I highly doubt you're going anywhere tomorrow." Riley said. "You won't be doing much for at least a week or so."

Jim nodded and then looked down at Jessica in surprise. Her eyes were closed and she snored softly.

"She's wiped." Riley continued watching Jessica too. "Look, I know she'd want to be with you tonight." Riley said to Jim, "How about I put her in your bed while we get cleaned up? I'll bandage you up and you'll be good to crash too."

"Thanks." Jim said.

"You work on Jim, I'll take her to Jim's room." Angus said to Riley and gently scooped her off the sofa. Laying her on Jim's bed fully clothes, he pulled the blankets up to her chin. Kissing her lips gently, he stood. Watching her sleep it finally sank in that she had really agreed to be his wife. It seemed so surreal ... but he knew the tattoo and rings would make it real. Watching her sleep, Angus realized that for the first time that he could remember, he was excited about the future. Turning the light off, he left the room, leaving the door slightly open. He was bone tired too and headed to the bathroom to clean himself up. Scott and Josh were already there.

"She's out?" Scott asked, looking at Angus' reflection in the sink mirror.

"Completely."

"Good, she'll need her rest for tomorrow." Scott continued, "Can't wait to finalize our marriage gangbang style. It's going to be fucking awesome."

"Fuck yeah." Josh agreed .

"Fucking right." Angus grunted in agreement. "Don't know how much of it I'll see." Angus added staring into the mirror and barely seeing out of the slits that remained in his swollen eyes.

"Could use a coupla sirloins for those." Scott said.

Angus grunted his agreement, "Will stick with ice for now. Hope Jess doesn't mind fucking zombies, that's what we look like."

"Guess we should wait to take our wedding pics." Josh said with a laugh.

"Beauty and the beasts." Scott added with a chuckle.

"One of you guys calling Corey about the tattoo?" Angus asked as Scott and Josh moved toward the door.

"Already did." Scott said, "He'll be here tomorrow around six."

Angus nodded.

"Night." Scott said as he and Josh turned to leave again.

"Wait." Angus said. Jessica's explanation about how she felt about Jim ran through his mind. And then Riley's description of the friendship he and Angus shared. It made Angus realize that he'd been nothing but an asshole to Scott and Josh for years. And Jim, of course. Somewhere along the way he stopped being a friend. He was tired, dead tired, so he wasn't sure if the sudden guilt he felt was because his defenses were down, but he felt like he had to acknowledge his bad behavior. "I know relationships aren't my strong suit." He said when both Scott and Josh waited for him to continue. "I have a way of fucking things up. But I want you to know that I'm committed to this. To Jessica, to you. I've apologized to Jess but I haven't said sorry to the two of you for the shit I've put you through. I am sorry. That's it ..." he added when Scott and Josh stared at him, clearly taken off guard.

"Thanks Angus." Scott said putting his hand out and shaking Angus' hand.

"Yeah, thanks." Josh agreed shaking Angus' hand also.

Angus nodded and after a moment that should have been awkward but surprisingly wasn't, Scott and Josh left. Angus turned to look at himself in the mirror and despite the bruises and cuts Angus liked what he saw. For the first time that he could remember in a long time, he wasn't angry and bitter. There was no part of him that felt resentful. He went to bed feeling unwavering optimism for the future.

**********************************************************

The next day, Riley followed Angus off the porch. The spring in Angus' step reminded Riley of Angus when Angus and Beth had first started dating. When Angus had thought he'd found the love of his life. Riley was glad that Angus was willing to put himself out there again, make himself vulnerable again. He'd really doubted that would ever happen again, but here Angus was, his heart on the line and happy. They both moved purposefully from the porch. They'd put off doing their chores all morning in the hopes that Jessica and Jim would get up and they could get on with the group fuck. But it was noon and Jessica and Jim were still in Jim's room. Scott and Josh had taken their chances and done their chores first thing in the morning and in hindsight both Riley and Angus wished they had too. But the time they'd spent waiting had been good too. Sitting around, the four of them, Josh, Scott, Angus and Riley, shooting the shit, relaxing. It'd been a really long time since they'd done that. But by lunch time Riley and Angus grudgingly acknowledged that they couldn't wait with the chores and made Josh promise to come and get them as soon as Jess and Jim got up.

"See you in a bit." Angus said turning to Riley, "What?" he added when he realized Riley had been observing him.

"Nothing really ... just glad to see you happy. Wasn't sure you'd ever take the risk again." Riley said.

"The risk?" Angus asked, bewildered.

"Of getting hurt again." Riley said.

Angus shrugged. "Kinda a no brainer."

Riley nodded.

"What?" Angus asked again, "You don't think it is?"

"I do. But things are a little different then when we talked about this before. Our options if things don't work out aren't the same as they were back then."

Angus nodded. "I know. If she leaves us now ..." Angus paused. With a shake of his head he continued, "beating and killing aren't options anymore Riley, I know that. But honest to God I don't feel like I'm taking a risk."

"Neither do I." Riley said with a grin, relieved that Angus had truly thought things through.

Angus grinned back, "So let's get these motherfucking chores done so we can fuck our wife when she gets up."

"Fuck yeah." Riley agreed and they moved in their respective directions. Riley to the dog kennels, Angus to the garage.

***************************************************

"They live!" Scott said when Jessica and Jim came into the living room.

"What time is it?" Jim asked.

"Two in the afternoon." Josh said. "We've been waiting for hours."

"We were pretty sure you weren't busy fucking." Scott said nodding at Jim's chest. "The next conclusion we came to was that you were dead. Another half hour and we were coming in your room to check on you."

"We slept like the dead." Jessica said, stretching while she went to kiss Scott good morning. She paused when she was about to turn to Josh. Scott was looking at her in a strange way. He looked happy, but at the same time like he needed something.

"Are you okay?" Jessica asked.

"Better than okay." Scott said, running his eyes up and down her body. When they returned to Jessica's there was something in them that was familiar and made her heart pound, her body tingle, but there was something different there too. Something that made Jessica feel warm inside.

"Um ..." Jessica said, unsure what she was supposed to do.

"Josh is waiting." Scott said with a smile.

"Mornin' babe ..." Josh said, twirling Jessica into his arms and bending her back into a long, deep kiss.

"Morning ..." Jessica said in surprise when he lifted his lips off of hers and smiled down at her.

"This is our first good morning kiss as husband and wife ..." He said looking incredibly happy despite the bruises on his face. Jessica swallowed. Josh was, different. Playful, happy, carefree, looking at her like Scott had been. Jessica started to think that maybe she was dreaming. Things seemed surreal. Scott and Josh seemed the same, but at the same time different. Jessica looked at Jim, who stood frozen in the living room, trying not to move too much for fear of the pain that movement would cause, to Scott, who looked like he'd just taken some happy pills, back to Josh who was smiling like a simpleton.

"Am I still asleep?" Jessica asked.

Josh laughed and planted his lips on Jessica's again. "No wifey, you are not dreaming. This is what happens when you make us the happiest men in the world!" And he kissed her again. Jessica giggled as Josh's lips travelled from her lips to her cheek, to her neck. When he lifted his head to look down at her, she brought her hands to his cheeks.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." She said.

"Better?" Josh asked. "Baby, I'm better than better. I feel like a new man!"

"You're a new man that's going to be a dead man if you don't go get Angus and Riley like you promised you would." Scott said.

"Shit ... right." Josh said. "I'll be right back." He said pecking Jessica on the lips, righting her onto her feet and heading for the door.

Jessica looked after him for a moment, stunned. He was a completely different person ... overnight. She looked at Scott, who winked and moved closer to her.

"Josh finished his design for the tattoo. It's on the coffee table ..." he said in a low, sultry voice. He continued to stalk toward her, slowly, purposefully. Jessica watched him, and waited in anticipation. It was like Scott was a new man too ... the same but different enough that Jessica felt unsure what he was going to do next. Her body tingled ... anticipating a kiss, a touch, several touches ... she felt hypnotized. Yet, she wasn't entirely sure that that was Scott's actual intention. Jessica couldn't seem to stop looking at Scott, until Jim gasped.

"Jim!" she exclaimed when she'd finally forced her gaze from Scott. Jim was stooped, pain etched on his face. She rushed to his side and stuck her head under his arm. "Lean on me ..."

"I got him Jess." Scott said appearing under his other arm.

"Do you want to go to the sofa?" Jess asked. Jim nodded and lent on Scott and Jessica as they helped him to the sofa.

"We should rebandage your chest." Jessica said dropping next to Jim on the sofa.

Jim nodded, but pointed at the coffee table. "Pass me Josh's design."

Scott passed Jim the paper.

"I'm sure Josh will explain it better, but that's basically Jessica in the middle." Scott said pointing at a heart. He moved back so Jessica could look at the picture too.

"I'm the heart?" Jessica asked, her heart warming at the thought.

"You sure are." Scott said and took Jessica's hand in his.

"And those ties show the connections between Jessica and each of us." Scott continued. Jessica looked at the heart and saw what looked like rope running from it in five directions. At the end of each rope was a symbol.

"Horse for you Scott?" Jessica asked, running her finger on the picture of the horse. "Dog for Riley ... "Jessica traced the rope down to the dog, "Book ... comic book I guess? For Josh ... and a car for Angus, and music for Jim." She ended, her finger stroking the music sign.

"And the ties run between each of us too. The perfect circle." Jim added.

Just then the front door opened and Angus and Riley followed Josh in.

Jessica looked up and her breath caught in her throat. Angus and Riley had the same serenely happy, mellow, looks on their faces that Josh and Scott had. Any traces of anger, stress, seriousness, were gone. Jessica barely recognized them.

She looked to Jim, still not sure that she was actually awake, and saw to her relief that he seemed as surprised by Riley and Angus as she was. She wanted this to be real, and Jim's double take confirmed that she wasn't imagining things.

"Jess." Riley greeted her, "You okay?" he asked Jim.

"I've been better." Jim said with a grimace, "but you two look ... great."

"We feel great." Angus said, watching Jessica rise from the sofa and move toward him. When Angus opened his arms to her, she went into them slowly. Even with his face battered, Angus looked younger. Much younger. She looked at Riley, and he too looked younger. Jessica stopped and pinched her arm.

"Stop that! What the hell are you doing?" Angus demanded covering her pinching hand with his and pulling it away from her arm. She looked up at him, mystified. He'd been commanding ... in tone, and in look, but it was still different. It was if his anger, bitterness, was replaced by something else that Jessica couldn't quite identify. Jessica panned her eyes over to the other men and they were looking at her in the same way. They disapproved of what she'd done, that was evident. But they looked at her like they ... loved her. Unconditionally loved her.

Jim chuckled. "Jess thinks she's asleep. She's trying to wake herself up."

"Is that it?" Angus asked, smiling and pulling Jessica to him. "Trust me, you're awake. Let me prove it to you." He said and brought his lips to hers. Kissing her, slowly, deeply, longingly. When he finally came up for air, both he and Jessica were out of breath.

"Believe me?" Angus asked, panting.

Jessica nodded.

"Would you prefer to be dreaming?" Riley asked, suddenly wondering if she was regretting the whole wife thing.