Page 14 of Dark Possession

By any means necessary.

Toran groaned as he nuzzled his face into the soft skin of Jesse’s neck. He trailed kisses up the sleeping boy’s throat, leading over the angle of his jaw and cheek until he reached his mouth. He pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. Jesse’s were dry and slack with sleep, but their softness beneath his was thrilling. Jesse whimpered in pain when he touched the cut on his lip so Toran reluctantly withdrew. It wasn’t what he truly wanted, but it would have to hold him over until he could properly claim those sweet lips for his own.

The older man held him as he watched the darkness outside the windows turn into a thin gray and then an orange sunrise. It was morning, though Jesse appeared as though he were going to sleep right through it. He had finally settled down, his little body curled into Toran’s much larger one. At loathe to wake him, Toran waited as long as he could before easing away and getting out of the bed.

Almost as soon as their bodies stopped touching, Jesse became fretful. He whined. Was it that he slept better when Toran was near? Toran liked the thought of that. He considered crawling back in bed beside him but then decided that it would be better to give his little bird some space today. Let him acclimate to his new circumstances. It would be easier if he was left alone today. Best not to push too hard, too soon….

He dressed quietly, but despite his best efforts Jesse woke anyway. He watched in sympathy as the boy’s face crinkled up with pain. His lovely face was covered in livid purple bruises, as was the rest of his poor body. It would take quite some time to recover from the beating he had taken.

Jesse woke with a start. Everything hurt even worse than it had when he’d fallen asleep and Jesse hadn’t thought that was possible. The pain stole the breath from his lungs in a shocked gasp. He moaned on the exhale. He tried not to move, but laying still felt almost worse. He wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep but the pain made that impossible, so Jesse opened his eyes.

Toran was staring down at him from his full height. He looked like a giant. Jesse flinched when he bent down and touched his forehead.

“You’ll stay in bed today. There’s nothing for you but water, but that’s what you need most anyhow. I’ll bring you something to eat when I come home. Here, let’s sit up now.”

He was gentle as he slipped his enormous hand beneath Jesse’s lower back and began to pull him upright. Jesse didn’t know if he could have sat up without the help. He groaned and Toran was kind enough to stack his own pillow on top of Jesse’s to help keep him upright.

“If you need to piss you can use this so you don’t have to get up,” he gestured to an empty water pitcher on the floor beside the bed. “And if you’re thirsty, here’s some water,” he gestured to an identical one beside it. His mouth twisted, “And once you’ve used them both, do take care not to mix them up.”

“Haha,” said Jesse dryly.

Now that it was daylight, he could see his surroundings much better. He was in one of the shanty houses, but unlike the others that seemed to be almost falling down, this one seemed very well cared for. The wood was reddish in hue and had a nice scent to it. The roof above his head was tight and well-sealed. There was pitch tar smeared between every board to keep out the wind. Along the top edge of each of the long walls ran long windows that were probably ten feet long, but only maybe six inches tall. They provided a lot of light, but no view inside or out, and no entrance or exit. There were two doors, one on each end. The whole cabin was perhaps fourteen feet by ten and it was small, but not cramped.

There was a table and two chairs, a chest of drawers, a coal-burning stove and a pipe that ran up the wall and out the roof. A mop and broom rested in one corner and another corner was hidden entirely by a tall wooden screen. There were a few wooden shelves and on those, to Jesse’s great surprise, a number of books. Paper books were shockingly old-fashioned and horribly out of place in a work camp. The oddest thing wasn’t the books though, it was the vanity table. It was painted white. There was a fancy gilded mirror and a number of colorful glass jars littering the surface. It was dainty and feminine and something one might have found in a fine lady’s bedroom, or so Jesse imagined, having never actually been in a fine lady’s bedroom.

Toran was quiet as Jesse took it all in, but finally he spoke, “What do you think?”

“It’s...nice.”

And it was, it really was. It was spotlessly clean too. It was far better than anything Jesse had imagined.

“Good, I’m glad you like it. You’ll be spending quite a lot of time here.”

Jesse’s eyes widened. Toran removed a key from his pocket. It was on a chain that he dropped around his neck. The key slipped down and was hidden by his shirt. “There’s only one key and I take it with me when I leave. You’ll be locked in, but you’re safest that way. I want you to stay in bed today and rest. There’s nothing expected of you...for now.”

He turned to go, his broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his shirt tautly. His boots were heavy and each thumping footstep made the entire cabin vibrate. He opened the door. Noise and sunlight poured in and it jolted Jesse into awareness.

“Wait!” he cried, wincing at the high-pitch of his voice.

Toran turned back with one eyebrow raised questioningly.

“I-I have no clothes. I left them in the cleaner and...I never got them back….”

“It’s fine. You don’t need those anymore anyway.” He nodded towards the chest of drawers, “But, second drawer down, if you get cold.”

“Thank you,” Jesse said, because he wasn’t sure what else to say.

“You’re welcome, darling,” Toran smirked.

His dark eyes flicked towards Jesse just before he closed the door. The key turn loudly in the lock. The metal grated harshly together, but it was the endearment that made the boy shudder. It spoke of an intimacy they had not yet established, but soon would. He shuddered again. Fear and anger ran down his spine.

And yet….

Jesse’s anger quickly dissipated and he was left feeling almost...numb. He remained where he was- propped upright with two pillows behind his back in a nice soft bed with a warm quilt over him. He looked over his surroundings once more. The stove wasn’t lit, it wasn’t cold enough yet for that, but Jesse could imagine that when it was the cabin would be quite warm and cozy. As unwilling as he was to accept this lot in life, he could now see why the doc had insisted he was fortunate to have caught Toran’s eye. There were luxuries here most of the prisoners could only dream about.

His mind returned to the giant bunkhouse with its tall ceilings and rows of uncomfortable beds. He imagined it would be quite cold in there at night, and noisy...and dangerous. One would have to sleep with one eye open. But here he was in a cozy cabin surrounded by comfort. While all the other prisoners toiled endlessly in horrible conditions performing back-breaking labor, Jesse would be allowed to laze in bed, all day long if he so desired. That evening, he would be provided with a hot meal. In fact, everything he needed would be provided for him. All he had to do was-

He heard voices through the door and his head turned sharply. The air had a chill to it, but that wasn’t why his skin suddenly prickled with goosebumps. Logically, Jesse knew that he was safe, because Toran had the only key to the door and the door was locked, he was still suddenly uncomfortable being nude.