Rare Books
He eased the door open, the silence behind it seemingly offering encouragement. Certainly three hours was more than enough time for—
“If you keep bothering me, Landon, I’m never going to finish this.”
Caught red-handed, Landon sheepishly opened the door the rest of the way. Tessa’s green eyes burned angry holes into his chest. “When you asked me to help, Landon, what did I tell you? I asked for enough un-inter-rupted time alone with my notebooks and the source material. Now stop checking in on me like I’m a panful of brownies! I will let you know when I’m finished.” The shapely blonde spun on her heels and marched back to her pile of books.
She reached for what he’d taken to calling The Tome, just as he’d hoped. Instead of opening it, however, she tossed it onto the desk and immediately stacked two thinner volumes on top of it.
His heart sank. “So,” he began, “any insights into our friend Hgorr Kunlith?”
Her pen slapped against her notebook with a sharp thwack. The sigh that followed was surely exaggerated for emphasis. “Yes, Landon, I have. You could wait until I’ve finished here, and read it all at once in my very nice report, or you can continue to pester me and receive it slowly over the course of a week. I rather prefer the first option, even if you are paying me an hourly rate.”
She waited for him to withdraw, just as he had done the first time he’d popped his head in. When he instead remained rooted in place, she rolled her eyes and continued. “Hgorr seems to have fancied himself a sorcerer. About half of his texts are medical in nature—treating battle wounds, curing coughs and wheezes, delivering babies, that sort of thing.”
Landon’s eyes lit up with excitement “And the other?”
“And the other?” She returned her attention to her notebook. “The other is not worth your time or mine, Landon Charles. You’ll find better-written smut down at the corner shop. Now. Away! Don’t come back here until I call for you, I mean it!”
He slowly made what he hoped was a dignified-looking retreat. “Tessa—”
“Yes?” Her voice was short and clipped.
He cringed. “Thank you, Tessa. For doing this. No one else would answer my emails.”
“That’s because you have a certain... reputation, Landon.” She looked up from her notebook and allowed him a sympathetic smile. “And the thanks are all mine. This research is going to make my thesis absolutely shine, and I owe that to you. Now, go. Go!”
Landon’s “tome” was an amazing text. Tessa had never seen anything quite like it. Ancient, of course, but there was no shortage of ancient books floating around campus. No, this was something else. Its leather cover, when turned just so under the overhead lamps, seemed to shimmer and glow. Faint hints of rainbows spread across its dark brown surface. And then there was that title: “Krigntellan alston Merctiros yel Drubros” —“Secrets of the Mind and Body.”
The ‘body’ part was what she was most interested in. Hgorr’s enormous list of medicinal herbs and potions, each documented and described in exhaustive detail, was itself worthy of an entire dissertation. Some of his surgical techniques were centuries ahead of their time. His theories on mental health and psychology, on the other hand... her corner shop quip to Landon was quite accurate. Instead of applying the same scientific rationale to understanding the human mind, Hgorr launched into fantastic tales of love potions and eager prostitutes.
She flipped to the next page. Hgorr wove the ‘body’ and ‘mind’ segments together, so it wasn’t possible to skip the smut and read the science. On the current page, he was in the middle of explaining the ‘science’ of love. Doodles of naked women covered the margins. Men, always the same. Still, the language and penmanship in this section seemed to be more formal than in the rest of the ‘mind’ pages. Perhaps there was something useful here. She clicked the top of her pen and began to translate.
“Rorgrth mallum drebnik tor.” —“You will listen.”
“Rorgrth mallum hrgathi trenum.” —“You will sleep.”
Our Hgorr, the budding stage hypnotist.
She paused for a moment, then crossed out the ‘hypnotist’ line with a loud yawn. All of this reading... just killing me today. I just need to finish this part and then… Her eyelids sagged, and she was only able to force them back open with some effort. Every muscle in her body felt drained, and she let herself sag into the chair. Her eyes nearly slid closed again, and she shook her head in frustration. “Nnn... sssooo...“
She glanced down at the page before her. The words beckoned her, as if daring her to read them. She reluctantly placed pen to paper. So sleepy... just... so ssssleepy… The words danced before her tired eyes.
“Rorgrth mallum tkannit werevum.” —“You will obey.”
“Rorgrth TALLUM tkannit werevum.” —“You MUST obey.”
“Hrgathi trenum werevum.”
“Hrrr...gathi...” The pen fell from her hand and clattered to the floor. The notebook quickly followed. “Tren...um. Were...vum.”
The Tome began to pulse with colors, first red, then green, then blue. Her words quickly fell in time with the shifts in color. “Hrgathi. Glow. Trenum. Flash. Werevum.” Watch. Hrgathi. Yes. Trenum. I must. Werevum. Obey.”
Her hands slid across the ancient parchment. Hrgathi. They landed with a soft plop in her lap. Trenum. Her glazed eyes remained glued to the book’s lovely, amazing, beautiful cover. Werevum. Pretty colors washed over her blank, placid face.
After a moment, her hands slipped into her pants and began sliding up and down. “Hrgathi,” she said between ragged breaths. “Trrrr... trrren... ohhhhhmmmm...” Faster and faster. Obey. “Wwwwwwerevvvvvvvvohgodyyyessssss...” Faster and faster, slave. “Hrrrgathi...” She pushed a finger between her swollen lips and groaned. “Trrrrrenummmmmmmm... werrrrrrrevuuuummmm...“
Faster and faster.
Deeper and deeper.
Sleep and obey.
She closed her eyes. The book, the words, the translation, the room... all of it faded from her mind as her fingers brushed her clit and she edged closer and closer to orgasm. Behind her closed eyes she could still see the beautiful lights from the cover. Voices—mostly men, mixed with a few women—surrounded her ears, whispering the familiar mantra. “Hrgathi trenum werevum. Hrgathi trenum werevum.”
“Alwaaayssss obey...” she hissed. “Imussssst... oh! obey! Mussssst! Nnnnnngh! Yessssss!”
This one will serve her Master well, she thought, before the orgasm surged through her body and everything faded to black.
Thump thump thump thump thump
“Dammit, Tessa! What the hell are you doing in there? Building a bookshelf?”
He cracked open the door, only a bit this time, and waited for the inevitable tongue-lashing. “Tessa,” he said, “Don’t be mad at me, I just heard a loud bang.”
A voice, low and sultry. “I am ready for you, Master. Gor mallum tkannit werevum.”
Confused, he threw the door open and walked into the middle of the room, hands on his hips. “Tessa, I thought you were going to skip the smutty bits and—Tessa?”
She curled her long legs beneath her as she finished unbuttoning her shirt. Her eyes never left his as she tossed the shirt into the corner to join her skirt and shoes. “Yes, Master. Your slave is ready for you now. Please forgive your slave for taking so long to prepare. Her mind was very... resistant to the words at first. She was very strong, but she is weak now. Weak and obedient. Gor mallum tkannit werevum. Please command your slave, Master.”
He ran his eyes up and down her body. To his slight surprise, his first thought was not What’s wrong with her? or What’s going on? but rather Does she wear sexy lingerie like that every single day? Ignoring the latter in favor of the former, he approached until he was towering over her. “Is this a joke? I am paying you by the hour, as you said.“
“Yes, Master.” She gazed at him, eyes full of lust and adulation. “Thank you for paying your slave, Master. I will happily work for free if you wish. I will do as I am told. Gor mallum tkannit werevum.”
“Sure, Tessa. Sure you will.”
“Yes, Master. I hear and obey. From this moment forward, I will work for free. I will always obey. I exist only to serve you. Gor mallum tkannit werevum.”
“What is that you keep saying?”
“Gor mallum tkannit werevum, Master. It is my special phrase. Whenever I hear it, I will go deeper into trance, and obey without question. My Master can use me as he wishes. Gor mallum tkannit werevum, Master. Please command your slave as she sinks deeper into mindless trance.”
“Are you... are you hypnotized?”
She smiled. “Of course, Master. Gor mallum tkannit werevum. I am now in a deep hypnotic trance, where only your words matter to me. My mind and body are yours to command.”
He glanced at Tessa’s discarded notebook. “Secrets of the Mind and Body... well, truth in advertising, I suppose.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Tessa...” There were so many questions to ask. “If I snap you out of this trance... will you forget being hypnotized?”
The blonde’s pretty smile faded. She looked disappointed. “If you wish, Master. I will always obey. But... your slave always wishes to be deeply hypnotized and under your control. Gor mallum tkannit werevum. When I hear those words I will go deeper into trance.”
Landon gently nudged The Tome away from her with his foot. “Actually, Tessa... I think it would be better if you...” He crossed his fingers for luck. That crazy old bookshop owner turned out to be not so crazy after all. “...if you fucked me right here, right now, on top of this desk.”
Her green eyes narrowed, and she slowly licked her lips. “Yes, Master. As you command.”
He loosened his belt as she rose, unsteadily at first, to her feet. By the time he began to work on his pants she was on top of him, kissing his neck and reaching greedily into his boxers. “I’m going to fuck you now, Master,” she cooed into his ear.
They spilled over the desk, scattering papers and books to the ground. Nearby, The Tome continued to glow.
“And?”
“And was wondering if you’d like to come back next week to continue your research. If you’ve got the time, of course.”
Tessa ran her hands through her long, damp hair. “Of course, Landon. There’s so much in these books that I could spend a month on them. This whole week has just gone by so fast, and I hardly have any notes to show for it!” She held up the 200-page notebook that now contained exactly 199 pages, most of them blank.
“What about this weekend? I’ve got a place out by the lake where we could... discuss the materials over a glass of wine?”
An ugly frowned crossed her face as she buttoned up her shirt. “Landon! You never quit, do you? This is why you have your reputation, you know.”
He handed her the shoe he’d found behind a stack of Paul Cannon textbooks. Tessa’s heels had amassed quite a bit of airtime by this point. Measuring how far they’d flown had turned into a fun game that Landon enjoyed playing far more than Tessa. “Okay, well, I’ll be waiting for you Monday morning. Nine on the dot.”
“Of course.” Her eyes dimmed just a bit as she slipped the lost shoe onto her foot. “But not until then. Thank you for the offer, Landon, but our work is strictly professional.“
She turned to leave. Landon admired her shapely ass as she made her way to the door. A thought popped into his head. It can wait until Monday. But then again… “Tessa, one more thing.“
“Ugh. What is it now, Landon?”
“Gor mallum tkannit werevum.”
Her battered notebook fell to the floor, along with her jacket. “Uhnnnn...” She swayed gently in place, eyes fluttering.
Let’s have some fun at the cabin tonight, Tessa.”
She walked back to the desk, giving her hips a sexy wiggle as she did so. She leaned in wrapped her arms around his upper body, showering him with a series of passionate kisses. “As you wish, Master.”