Vox Dominus Pt. 15

She did so, her movements halting as she met his gaze, as though afraid of what she might find. It was enough to squeeze the air from Seb's throat. Yet when he spoke next, the Vox sounded gentler and warmer than he had ever heard it.

"I don't want you to leave," he said. "You are the most wonderful person I've ever met. And I care about you so, so much."

Sophia's breathing slowed. Her hands unclenched. "Y-you do...?" she whispered.

"More than anyone else," Seb continued. "I don't want you to feel guilty or bad about what happened back then. I want to make you feel good. I want you to be happy."

Scattered tears dripped down her cheeks, but still her gaze remained fixed on his. Seb leaned forward, brushing the errant droplets away.

"Relax," he whispered. "Everything is going to be okay. Just breathe, and relax."

Gradually, her lips curved into a smile. "Relax..." she repeated.

"Let all the bad feelings slip away. You don't need them anymore. Just let my voice and my words guide you deep into a state of complete relaxation. Free from pain. Free from worry. So totally at peace, that nothing can harm or disturb you. You want to go there, don't you?"

"Yes..." Sophia answered, her expression becoming dreamy and distant.

"Very good. Then that's what we'll do. On the count of three. One...two...three."

Once again, her eyes closed. Her body slouched forward, her head falling on Seb's shoulder, startling him. His entire body tensed, unsure of how to respond. In a way, after what he had put her through, it felt wrong for her to be so close, for him to be the pillar of comfort holding her aloft.

And yet...

As Seb began to move away, she nuzzled closer into him. Her breath wafted over his neck, warm and languid. There wasn't a trace of the earlier discomfort on her face. Just blank, blissful contentment. If he didn't know any better, Seb would say she was in a deep, peaceful sleep.

So Seb let her rest. And caught his own breath as well. He doubted Sophia would be in the mood to take things further when she was awake. Yet even as he realized this, he didn't feel disappointed. After the session had veered so closely to disaster, after he had witnessed the potency of Sophia's pain, all he felt now was relief.

Curiously, the Vox seemed to share the sensation. Even with Sophia completely under his influence, even with all the heat and desire that had been building over the course of the evening, the wicked voice inside him had quieted. It was no longer clamoring for satisfaction, no longer demanding Sophia's complete servitude.

Instead, like Seb, the Vox was content to sit in this moment. To enjoy the feeling of her leaning on his shoulder, a picture of trust and comfort. Her hair falling in strands before her sleepy expression. Her lips pursed slightly, a tiny murmur escaping whenever Seb shifted.

If it was up to Seb, he would've made the moment last forever.

But his shoulder was falling asleep. And, if he didn't wake her soon, Sophia was probably soon to follow.

"Sophia, can you still hear me?" he asked.

"Yes..." came the almost imperceptible reply.

Seb let out a relieved breath and—after taking a beat to absorb his surroundings, to etch the moment in his mind for eternity—he began counting her up out of trance. Ten...nine...eight...he delighted in the way she sighed....seven...six...five...the drowsy groan she made, the way her body stirred as the energy returned to it...four...three...two...the movement behind her eyelids, flickers of awareness returning...

One.

Sophia blinked awake, swaying slightly as her body straightened and reoriented.

"Hey..." Seb ventured, watching her closely.

Her head slowly turned to face him. "Hey..." she repeated with a smile.

"You doing alright?"

"Um. Yeah...it's just..." She looked away and laughed, embarrassed. "That was...uh...wow...I...I'm not sure...what..."

"It was a lot, huh?" Seb ventured.

Another unsteady laugh. She brushed the hair out of her face, her hand shaking slightly. "Y-yeah, it was really...gosh...I..." she wiped her eyes. "I dunno how to really describe it."

"But..." he paused, scanning for any signs of discomfort. "You feel okay, right?"

Sophia met his gaze. "Yes," she answered. "I just...need a moment, I think."

"I totally understand," Seb checked his phone. 10:00PM was approaching. And he was exhausted. "Maybe we should..." he hesitated, and was surprised to find no resistance from the Vox. "Maybe we should call it a night. Take it slow."

Sophia fell silent, seeming to process this. Then she smiled. "That sounds good," she answered, a lingering dreaminess still dripping from her voice.

Seb stood. "I'll text you tomorrow," he said. "Then we can take time to really unpack all of this, okay?"

"Yeah," Sophia breathed, seeming to relax even further. "I'd like that."

Seb smiled and headed for the door, giving one last goodbye before exiting the room. He left the dorm quickly, waiting for the Vox to flare up and demand his return. Yet as he stepped into the cold autumn night, the hunger he had felt so acutely upon arrival was completely extinguished. The Vox remained dormant. Content.

Perhaps...

Perhaps it wasn't only sexual desire that fed the monster inside him.

Perhaps it wasn't a monster at all.

_____________________________________________

Sophia's head felt fuzzy.

And so, so good.

It had been over an hour since Seb had brought her out of trance, but it still felt like she hadn't fully woken up. She drifted through her room as she got ready for bed, sporadically realizing she was putting on her PJ's or brushing her teeth. The entire night felt like a dream. Too strange and wonderful to be true. Even in her wildest fantasies, the sensation of hypnosis hadn't even been close to what she had just experienced. It had been overwhelming. Intoxicating. A headlong plunge into an ocean of pleasure and possibility.

One she had emerged from transformed.

The other voice was gone. Seb had taken it away.

Even as she struggled to explain it, she knew in her heart it was true. When she thought back to that moment in high school, when she tried to conjure the hurt she had become so accustomed to, the memory returned dull and harmless. The words that had scarred her were gone, replaced by new truths.

"You're the most wonderful person I've ever met."

"I want you to be happy."

Sophia smiled, a giddy rush tickling her body. Drowsy as she was, she doubted she would get much sleep tonight. A new horizon was shining before her, boundless and bright. She wanted to chase it as far as she could, sprinting headlong into this new world she and Seb had discovered.

She could still hear an echo of him as she lay down in bed and closed her eyes. A phantom of his voice, wrapping itself around her body, soothing her skin and stoking the heat in her veins. So exciting and arousing. So warm and familiar.

Familiar...

Familiar...

Where had she heard it before..?

The voice she heard when she was in trance...it was the same one Seb had used on Chelsea at the variety show...

And...

Sophia's eyes snapped open. The air vanished from her lungs.

The block party.

There was no mistaking it now.

Seb had been there.

And both he and Chelsea had lied about it.