She ran her hand along his chest as she walked past him, then gave his butt a playful smack and continued on, disappearing down the hallway. He suddenly felt very awkward, standing in her living room, completely naked in front of those massive windows.
He retrieved his boxers from the floor, putting them back on before grabbing his beer again. He took a seat on the comfortable sofa and was drinking his beer and looking out over the city when she returned. Jessica was wearing a silk kimono, black, with beautiful embroidery, it was alluringly short, and the way it flowed as she walked was mesmerizing. She stopped at the bar, pouring herself a drink before asking Jeremy if he needed anything.
"I'm fine," he answered.
Jessica sat down on the couch opposite him, leaning back against the arm, one leg against the back of the couch extended towards him, the other crossed under her. He quickly realized that he could almost see right up the bottom of the robe. She laughed, and he blushed as he realized she had figured out what he was doing.
"Which one will make you more comfortable," she asked, pulling the hem of the robe down a bit.
"This?"
Then she pulled it up, completely exposing herself, "or this?"
"The first for sure," he managed to stammer.
She complied with his request, still smiling at him.
"I bet you don't ask Esmerelda to cover up."
He looked at her, unsure of how to answer.
"Oh, it's not like I don't know that about her," Jessica continued.
"It did take some getting used to," Jeremy finally admitted, "and it was hard to concentrate for a while."
"I'm sure it was, Esmy does have that effect. I must say though, she and my sister didn't exaggerate. You are delicious, you'll be even better once you get past that guilt."
He looked at her, more than a bit confused.
"Guilt?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm sure she explained how we can feel your emotions, and the energy when you orgasm."
"Well, actually it was your sister who explained it, but yes."
Jessica paused for a moment, "I suppose that makes sense too. Anyway, I can taste that joy, but there is a little...aftertaste? That might be the best way to explain it."
She shook her head, "I'm not used to this, it's sort of like explaining colors to a blind person, no offense."
"None taken."
"And I suppose it won't do much good for me to try and lecture you on why you shouldn't feel guilty?"
"Probably not, Esmerelda already tried that, and I get it logically, but I can't wrap my gut around it. And I know this is going to sound hypocritical as hell, but the thought of her with someone else is something I can't wrap my head around. I mean I know she's married, and I'm the other guy and all. But...it's confusing."
Jessica laughed and Jeremy looked at her confused and a bit hurt.
"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you, but I mean come on, yeah she's married as far as your laws are concerned but, it's not like she was ever even in love with the guy."
The hurt faded, but the confusion was stronger than ever, "If she never loved him, why did she marry him?"
It was Jessica's turn to be confused for a moment, then she sat up, "Oh, shit... you didn't know?"
"Didn't know what?"
Jessica hesitated for a moment.
"Well, in for a dime, in for a dollar I suppose," she began. "Look, obviously our society is very different than yours. It's grown and developed in parallel, but the nature of things is we have to do somethings that you don't. The issue with male sterility being the most obvious example. One of the things we have a keen interest in is genetics. How did we get the way we are? Where did our genetics diverge from yours to allow us access to the powers we have? Esmy's mom is actually one of the best geneticists in the world. It's unfortunate that she can't publish the vast majority of her research. Anyway, between all the genealogical records that have become available in the last few years, and all the folks doing the various DNA tests they went looking for certain combinations.
Witches all have generally the same abilities, but it's like any other trait. Some people are faster, some are stronger, smarter, you name it. Some of us are more powerful than others. Esmy is...well, she's the Babe Ruth of witchcraft, Slugger."
Jessica paused to let that sink in, taking a drink.
"And I'm not talking about Babe Ruth compared to the guys now, I'm talking about Babe Ruth back when he was hitting more home runs than entire teams."
"She's really that," he hesitated for a moment it seemed such a strange way to think about kind, sweet, gentle Esmerelda, "powerful?"
Jessica nodded, and Jeremy took a long pull on his beer.
"That night in the bar, you thought she froze you?"
"I mean, I'm not sure what happened, but yeah, that sort of describes it."
"That isn't really what happened. She altered the flow of time. You can't really stop time, but she slowed it to an utter crawl. AND while she was doing that, she went into those idiots' minds and did a near surgical removal of certain memories. Endora and I tracked them down. I had to spend 20 minutes flirting with those jackasses while she went through their filthy minds with a fine-toothed comb and she could barely find any traces that Esmerlda had been there."
She took another drink.
"I'm not sure you can really appreciate how impressive that is. I'm pretty damn good, and Endora is no slouch either. We are both probably in the top 10% of witches, even higher if you compare us to people our own age. Neither one of us could have done what she did. The two of us working together, maybe.
I could have slowed things down, and Endora could have erased one of their minds, but it would have been a stretch for me to hold it together long enough for her to get both, and it wouldn't have been nearly as clean if we'd managed it."
She finished her drink, and got up, "Want another one?"
"Yeah, one of whatever you're having."
Jessica mixed two more drinks and handed one to him before sitting back down.
"So, the point of all that, besides leaving you terrified of what your girlfriend is capable of, is that they discovered some interesting genetic markers in her husband's family. As it happens, several witches have had children with his ancestors, and they have all been noted as being particularly capable. He carries those markers in his X-chromosomes. So, Esmerelda volunteered to have a child with him, if Tabitha turns out the way everyone thinks, it will prove her mom's theories."
"So, she never loved the guy at all?"
"Not really, I mean, he's nice enough, if a bit odd as far as I can tell. Frankly, they just should have let her seduce him and disappear. The council was worried that if her mom is right, and we are all pretty damn sure she is, then Tabitha is going to be one of the most powerful witches of her generation. Maybe the most powerful, and the last thing we want is someone that powerful to be disconnected from the mortal world."
Jeremy took another drink, remembering what Esmerelda had told him about that, "That seems like a very legitimate concern."
"Oh, it is, it just sucked for Esmy, especially when her husband turned out to be the way he is. She really tried to make it work. She really was trying I guess I should say. You convinced her to quit trying."
The witch held up a hand, cutting him off, "and before you say anything, that was the best thing for her. Nobody who knows her disagrees, her parents are ecstatic about the change, and I think it's better for Tabitha too. And now that she won't have to sneak around so much, it's even better."
"Well, for a year," Jeremy said with a shrug.
