The Enforcer's Bride

Chapter 11

Jude

For a second I was so stunned I couldn’t move. After years of chasing Hannah was on her knees, willingly giving herself to me. It was almost too easy. I kissed both of her hands, leaned in and placed my forehead against hers.

“I will be your protector, your guiding light. I will provide a home and a safe place to rest your head. I promise to lead our family in the way of the Father. This I promise to you until the end of my days. Rise Hannah.” Hannah stood, her head bowed. I took her chin in my hand and raised her eyes to mine. “I love you Hannah, nothing will happen to you. You are mine.” I looked toward the open door, wanting to slam it shut and bend Hannah over my desk. Wanting to rip off her dress and make her scream my name for hours on end. But no matter how old we are, an unmarried couple must not be left alone. I called to Sister Leah who was sitting outside the door, our dutiful chaperone.

“Take a message to the Elder Council, I’d like to schedule our Marriage and Bedding Ceremony.”

“Yes sir,” Sister Leah hesitated, “What would you like to do concerning the bridal robe?”

Ah yes that is a wrinkle. Traditionally a woman’s family, her mother, sisters, aunts, will get together to make the bride’s garments. Seeing as Hannah does not have family, that complicates things.

“I can make my own,” Hannah said in a small voice, “I helped make my cousin’s robes, I think I could do it on my own.” I thought for a minute, then went to my desk and wrote down some instructions for Sister Leah. She read the note and departed.

“Come Hannah, I have an idea.” I took her hand and started to lead her out of my office.

“Jude, wait.” She pulled her hand from mine and stood, fidgeting with her pale-yellow sleeve. “I…I need to talk to you about something.” I motioned for her to sit in her chair as I leaned against my desk and crossed my arms. I ran through a list of topics that she may need to discuss with me in my head trying to guess her nervousness.

“Go ahead.” Hannah bit her lip and stared down at her hands.

“The Bedding Ceremony, um, will there be anyone else there?” I raised my eyebrows and smiled.

“Hannah you naughty girl, are you telling me that you snuck into a ceremony?” Bedding Ceremonies are invitation only affairs, to be shared only with the Elder Council and select male family and friends. They are a way for the Elder Council to verify that a couple consummated their union but a husband may decide to share his wife after he is finished, and she is expected to submit to as many men as her husband chooses. I’d attended only a few of my friend’s but I really had no interest in bedding someone else’s wife in front of an audience. Besides if I wanted to spend the evening with a woman, we had Lilith’s for that. 

Hannah blushed, “It was Esther’s idea!” Of course, I should’ve known. Growing up the two were practically tethered together. “She was curious and we found a way to sneak into the temple….no one talks about it and we wanted to know what to expect because the betrothal ceremony…” Hannah trailed off as I held up a hand to stop her. I could tell that something happened, something that she was nervous to say.

“Start from the beginning Hannah and just tell me what happened.”

She took a deep breath, “You know the back steps by the bell tower?” I nodded “Well we snuck up the steps and hid in the attic, we watched the whole ceremony by moving one of the loose boards to the side. Esther thought the ceremony was romantic and at the beginning it was sweet but then it was…” She tilted her head, trying to find the words.

“Hannah, you can say what happened.” Her hesitation to talk about s*x was simultaneously endearing and annoying. Don’t people talk about this all the time in the outside world?

“Her husband had s*x with her then he let everyone else have s*x with her too! Even the Elder Council!” Hannah blurted, “And she kept screaming and she bled and men literally had to hold her down and everyone was touching her…” She shuddered.

Oh my sweet virgin bride, there is so much I have to teach you. I smiled slowly nodding, of course the violence and roughness that some men prefer would seem scary to her. Hannah doesn’t yet know the pleasure and sweetness that comes from opening her legs to a man. I walked to Hannah and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her tiny frame. “You have nothing to worry about, I’m a selfish man and I don’t often share what belongs to me.” I spun her around and pressed her back up against me, sliding my hands down her breasts and over her curves. I was careful to keep my back to the door, my large frame blocking anyone from viewing. Hannah moaned and rocked her hips back, pressing her ass against my hardening c**k. I traced my finger down her neck to her belly button and lightly licked the outside of her ear.

“The only screaming you’ll be doing is my name as you come all over my c**k,” I murmured, goosebumps pricking Hannah’s skin. I loved how her body responded to me, like she was made for me. Things will be so much easier now that she’s accepted her fate. She will willingly come to the temple, to my home, to my bed. It will make life easier, and better, for the both of us. She moved herself up and down on my bulging front, “Careful, you’ll make me pull up this skirt right now,” I warned. Hannah bent over and placed her hands on the table.

“Ouch!” She cried and immediately drew back, holding her now bleeding hand.

“What happened?” I grabbed a cloth napkin from the table and wrapped it around her fingers.

“I got so carried away, I didn’t see the steak knife. Would you mind grabbing me a bandage?” Hannah smiled sweetly at me. I kissed her forehead, “Of course, you wouldn’t believe how often we need them around here. I’ll be right back.”

I went to go find a bandage and left Hannah alone in my office.

Hannah

When Jude left I knew I only had a short amount of time. I immediately tied the napkin tighter around my finger, wincing from the pain. Some sacrifices need to be made I guess.

I knew Jude would trust me quickly if I opened up, gave him what he wanted. I also knew that this would help me put a date on the ceremony, would let me know how much time I had to get out rather than wait in purgatory. If I worked slowly I could stretch the robe making out to at least four days.

I went to Jude’s filing cabinets and sorted through his system. Impeccably alphabetized and labeled, of course. I smiled, for once I was thankful for Jude’s need for neatness and order. I had to get through my task before he returned, if we’re to marry soon then I had to find a way out and quickly.

I flicked through schedules and personnel files, finally finding what I was looking for. The map of the border wall, a thirty-foot-high structure made of concrete, metal scaffolding, and goodness knows what else. The only known way in or out was through the front gates and it’s not like I can just waltz out.

I thought back to the first time I escaped. I snuck out in the middle of the night and hid in a truck full of furniture meant to be sold in the outside world. Everyone in The Province learns a skill and if your craft is good enough, they may sell it to outsiders for money for medicine and fabrics. Or that’s what they told us. I hid in a wooden trunk, balling myself up for six hours with no food or water. All the furniture was unloaded into a warehouse and from there I ran, hitchhiked, and walked. Now, according to one of Jude’s Enforcer schedules, they thoroughly check all trucks, coming and going. There is no possible way for me get through the border wall unless I can find a different opening.

I found the blueprint and spread it on Jude’s desk, looking for hallways, doors, crevices, anything that could indicate a weakness or break in the structure.

“Develop an interest in architecture?” Jude leaned against the door way, mouth set in a thin line. I jumped back from his desk and he crossed the room, grabbed me, and forced me down in my chair. My breath was caught in my chest, I tried to breathe slowly and evenly as Jude grabbed my hand and twisted the bandages around it to stop the bleeding. Then he grabbed me by my elbow and hauled me out of his office, down the hall, and down a set of stairs deeper into the bowels of the building.

“Jude, where are we going?” I demanded, trying to break free of his grasp. Jude squeezed my arm tighter and picked up pace, forcing me to almost run behind him. We stopped at a metal door with a key pad, Jude punched in some numbers and the door unlocked.

“You want to be a bad girl? Fine. But know that bad girls get punished.” He said, forcing me into the darkness.