Chapter Seventeen

Passion Play

"Iris, welcome back." Joan Leland stood from behind the desk and reached out to accept her handshake, though she was wincing. Her back must be hurting her now. Iris had to admit it, it was a little strange being back here after spending less than a month at her grandmother's estate. But she missed everybody here, and today was when Edward would be released. Once again, she was dressed up for it, wearing again the dress she wore for Jonathan's release, the colors from blue to teal to black, but this time her hair was up in a chignon bun. "Thanks, Joan," she said, accepting the handshake. "And thank you for taking care of everyone for me."

"Oh, it's my job and you know that," the other woman replied with an easy smile. "Everyone's been asking when you'd be back. You know, Iris…" she said, stepping out from behind the desk to hand her place back over to her. "…I've given my life for these people in here, but never in my life had I ever met someone so young and full of life, and passionate as you. Nor has that person ever been able to connect with the patients here. I sometimes think you're better than I am."

"Oh, hush. I would not say I'm better than you. That's exactly what these people need, Joan," she agreed, sitting down, mentally groaning in satisfaction at the feel of her cushioned leather chair. "They need someone there for them so that they are less likely to continue their ways and more likely to start fresh." She looked down at the paperwork that was now laid on her desk. "So, where's Edward now?"

"He's getting the last of his paperwork filled in," Joan answered. "Rochelle, my cousin-in-law, is on her way to pick him up. I can't keep him in this place any longer. The judge even approved but has the final date scheduled for tomorrow morning."

Iris sighed heavenly. "Thank God he's out of here now. He's been through a lot and didn't deserve it." Everything from his mother leaving him, his distant father, and everything at state…

"So, what about your sister and Jervis? Didn't you say they would be on a honeymoon now?"

"In Tahiti, yes."

Joan laughed. "It's funny, I imagined someplace like Morocco for Eddie and myself. We talked about it before, had we ever decided to get married and have kids." She looked down at her abdomen where their first little one was not that far along. "You ever wonder what it's like to have children of your own?"

Suddenly, Iris was thinking about a little face framed with ebony hair, set with crystalline blues, and features that had been carved from ice with love and care… "Maybe," she replied. "I'd rather not have children that won't be accepted in this wretched world." She thought of herself and her mother as soon as she said that. She felt the other's hand on her.

"You're going to be a good mother. You're nothing like yours, and you know how to handle people well. You give everyone in this place the attention and affection that a mother would give a child."

Just then, there was another knock on the door. Carl popped his head in. "Excuse me, docs, but Nygma's asking for you both."

~o~

Edward put down the pen as soon as he was finished and sighed heavily. The clerk smiled at him warmly as she took the papers from him. "That's it. You're free to go, Mr. Nygma."

"Not just yet. I believe someone asked to see us." He looked up and saw Iris and Joan standing there in the doorway.

"Wanted to see you both before I left," Edward answered, turning around to fully face them in his chair. It felt alien and surreal to be wearing ordinary clothes again - he was now in a charcoal gray V-neck sweater over a striped lime-and-white collar shirt with tailored gray pants, given to him by Drew - when he had been in an orange prison suit for so many months. Now that he was out of it and ready to live a better life, he wondered if he would ever have the chance to see Jon again as he was living with Iris and her married sister and new brother-in-law.

Joan walked up to him and, not caring that others would watch, took his face in both her hands, bringing him down for a kiss that they would no longer hide - and that meant no more sneaking into broom closets and private office times. They would be getting a place of their own again, and this time Jon would not be living with him. Sighing, Edward melted into Joan and held her close to him, happy and feeling like letting his manly shell fall to show the soft side he knew he had. Men were just as soft, only they prided on covering it with tight jaws and stern faces.

"You're saying that like we may not see each other again," Iris noted, laughing. "Don't worry about that. You both are welcome to visit us anytime you want. We'll have a guest room ready for you guys, and perhaps a couple of others for Drew and his clan."

"You really mean that?" Edward felt like a fool asking that; of course, she meant it. Joan laughed against him as she echoed his thought.

"So what do you plan to do out there now?" Iris asked as she walked him out of the clerk's office for the front entrance, Joan still holding onto his hand.

"Um…" Edward hadn't dwelled on that as much as taking Drew up on his offer. "Like Drew offered me, which I can definitely swing. But I'm also considering writing quiz books - you know, every riddle and clue I gave out to the Batman or anyone else I ever came in contact with in written paper and out for the world to see."

"Sounds you." Iris smiled at him warmly. Out parked in front of them was a shiny silver Volvo, no need to guess who the driver was intended. "Well, then, I suppose this is no good-bye - you know I hate that term - but a 'see you soon.'" She turned to give him a quick, tender hug. "You come and see us sometime, Eddie."

He groaned and drew back to give her a mocking glare. "I hate it when people call me that, Blue," he returned, earning a stick of the tongue, and then a shared laugh.

"Get your ass out of here before I change my mind and lock you back in," Iris teased, patting his back. He shared one more hug and kiss with Joan - she whispered she would see him later - before letting her go. Somehow he felt empty just knowing that there would be no more seeing her during the day until the day itself was over. "And don't forget what I asked of you!" Iris yelled as he opened his door to the shotgun seat, where he would soon be transported far away from this horrible place.

~o~

Jonathan was feeling anxious at the moment. He had just sent the Gotham Memorial Library his resume and everything, but he was nervous. What if he was rejected because of his criminal record? It was likely possible, and if that happened, he would most likely end up working at a fast-food restaurant or something. Or end up stuck at home while Iris worked all day. Not that he minded being alone, but he missed her during the day.

Perhaps he could find some way to enjoy himself - and perhaps hatch up a plan to enjoy her as soon as she walked through that door. He had done more reading of the Kama Sutra, but one of the new positions he'd overheard Harley and Ivy one time - he had no idea why that one stayed in his mind - when they engaged in "girly talk", and one sexual position was known as the "reverse cowgirl position" where the woman was on top, facing away, and "the angle of the member through the front entrance of the vaginal opening stimulates the area of the G-spot," as he'd heard Ivy instruct Harley. Then it had been when she'd unwillingly given the harlequin tips on making it with her clown boyfriend.

But now that gave him a new idea on how to make Iris "one happy girlfriend." Eddie's words, which he'd never thought he'd taken to heart in his life.

Speaking of Eddie, he was being released today. He was very happy about his friend's release. Iris had been telling him - and Eddie told him over the phone - that he was given a job by Joan's cousin at the family company, and he was getting an apartment with her…who, by the way, was pregnant with his baby. That last part made Jonathan groan. Okay, that was unexpected for the both of them, but the least they could have done was wear protection. Except that would've prevented poor Eddie from having a proper orgasm, but safety was safety in accordance with the rules of sex.

Suddenly, that made him think of Iris. What if they had a child if they weren't careful? Jonathan knew nothing much about being a father as much as he wanted to have a family with her. She didn't seem like she was mother material, given her experiences with her own. But no, she was too good to be like Maria. And besides, the theory of the male partner with no good release at the end of the act was proven true that first time.

He smirked when he heard the door lock click open, and quickly bolted up from the luxurious couch and headed for the doorway, watching as Iris slipped off her heels and give herself a good shake after the long day was over. For a second, he wondered if she was too tired to even do this, but his impatient arousal was insisting. Then he heard her calling for him.

"Jonathan, I'm home."

"In here," he answered back, standing where he was inside the sitting room. He heard her padding across the tiled floor on her bare feet.

"God, can you believe this? Eddie's finally out there, and before you know it, you'll see him again in no ti - Jonathan!" She let out a cry of surprise when he advanced on her, grabbing her arms and spinning her around for a rough, demanding kiss. Laughing wildly, she tried to push him off. "Jonathan, what's gotten into you?!"

"I need you, little nymph," Jonathan purred, ravaging her neck with the pressure of his kisses. The bite mark from that night was still there on her neck. He pushed down the blue shoulder of the dress she'd worn when he himself had left Arkham, then her bra strap to nibble the sensitive spot where her shoulder met her neck, emitting a mouse of a squeak of delight from her. "I've been missing you all day it isn't even funny," he rasped, reaching down to undo his belt, button, and zipper so he could free himself from the tight confines of his jeans. "I sent in my resume to the library today," he continued, "but the anxiety of it is still here that I need help in ending it." He reached up under her skirt, after feeling the smoothness of her thigh, and reached to the lace of her low-rise lace briefs. She was on the brink of soaking wet through the fabric.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, and he picked her up and carried her over to one of the rich blue-gray damask floral sofas underneath the gilded golden ceiling and chandelier highlighting the opulence of the sitting room. He discarded his blue turtleneck and jeans and proceeded to pull her dress from the shoulders down so she was left in her lingerie - the finest electric blue lace with black French lace overlaid. It unhooked in the front so that her breasts rolled a little to the side upon release. Loins pounding harder than before with need, Jonathan rolled over onto his back so that she could take control, he helped her sit up on top of him, turning her away so that her firm little rear end was pressing against his lower abdomen and the center of her core was touching his heated erection. She looked back at him with an expression of confusion, but he gave her a reassuring smile and gave her bottom a little pat, spreading his legs wider and bending his knees for more space for her.

She straddled him, then, and pretty soon he was engulfed by wet heat, hotter than dripping lily nectar under the sun, and began to ride him, pulling the pins from her bun and throwing her head back then and letting her mane of raven hair fall back and tickle his chest slightly. Jonathan uttered a series of grunts at this challenging new position, but once the practicing was done, the better it was. The riding mixed with hard and fast to slow and gentle on his shaft, but it was nothing more or less than exquisite sensations. "Oh, Iris…Iris, that's a good girl! How do you feel?"

"Like Eden!" she yelled up to the ceiling, increasing the speed. She gripped his thighs for support. It was so hard for Jonathan to keep a straight face as he relished the steamy sight of her bottom lifting up and down and swinging side to side before his eyes. And then she did this: she reached for his balls and began to fondle them, keeping the other hand on his thigh for support. Jolts of electricity shot through him, and he groaned, almost to the point of shouting.

What was fabulous about this was the fact that he could feel and not see Iris' face, which fueled his fantasies about the face she was making at this time. And the sounds she hollered - something he had never heard from her - told him that the theories were correct, and Eddie had been right in making her one happy girl. What even made this position so good about obtaining the biggest orgasm of all time was the fact that the female was in control and doing all this and that, grinding in any position which suited her, and at any speed at any random time, Iris would pound him off quickly, then lower back down to being slow and subtle just to tease them both. Unlike the imagined being unable to penetrate her properly, he was wrong.

She bent forward, offering a better angle and entrance for him to slide further inside, his pubic bone rubbing against her clit for more. This part proved too much for Jonathan as he arched himself up and hit a more sensitive spot in her - a little cry escaped her lips then - causing her to arch herself back against him, and he felt it come. After following her, he collapsed back on the sofa, holding her against him and breathing heavily with her. By that time, their bodies were sweating immensely to the point of illumination from the golden crystal chandelier above.

Iris managed to lift her head and turn around to look him in the eye. "What brought that on?" she asked in a raspy, post-coital voice.

Jonathan chuckled. "Needed you all day. Figured this would…make the whole hard day more memorable."

She sat up then, ignoring the painful pop of her bones from the "exercise", turning around to show him her breasts. "Well, I got something for you that'll make it all the more memorable," she told him, a suggestive edge to her tone…giving away what she had in mind.

He smirked at her. "You want to go again." It wasn't a question, either.

~o~

Over in Morocco in general, there was a Turkish-style steam bath known as the hamman. It was opened to both public and private alike, but either way, you were in for uber-luxury - even stripping down however you were pleased of your own will or at the request of your masseuses. "This is not the time to be shy! Do as the Moroccans do and strip down to the bare essentials," it was said by them or in the brochures. How the massage technique was done: buckets of water poured over you, then came steaming. The heated stone platforms to lay on guaranteed to force your muscles to surrender to the temptation. To follow was the exfoliation process unlike any other you ever received or heard of, the dead skin cells removed indefinitely. Afterward, more rinses and perhaps a shampoo and facial treatment. All of the above was pure heaven that could be called undeserved pampering and the regret to follow for overindulgence.

The spa room of DeLaine Manor was designed after the hamman, where first Iris led Jonathan down the entrance, which was an airy space of soft, clean white stone from the ceiling to the pillars to the floor, and all accented with blue splashes. Off to the wall between the little indoor pool and some pillars was a Moroccan fountain of cream and the strongest cobalt blue mosaic tiles, which literally created a Moroccan oasis. They then took a walk down the corridor, under which they passed through soft sea foam-colored arches carved with beautiful Moroccan scrolls and hung with native lanterns. Like in the country of this theme, they encountered classic scents in the air including rose, mint, honey, almond, lemon, orange blossom, and argan oil. A simple whiff of these scents was always enough to transport you to the Middle East.

Now they were here. The spa room was in warm and fiery hues of rose gold to provide an exotic backdrop, same with the pillars and arches of the ceiling. The antique-finished wooden door to their left was shut, but it was filled with more assorted bottles from the Kama Sutra line, all of them to "make love better". "Go ahead and get ready," Iris purred seductively - she knew she was doing just that - to Jonathan, as she gestured for the bronze filigree changing screen off to the far right, just before the marble massage bed that matched the rest of the room. He gave her a coy smirk and headed for that, also where an elegant aqua-and-blue Moroccan towel was slung over just for him. She watched, given that the screen was partially see-through, as he stripped down completely, undergarments and all, and then wrapped the towel around his waist, while she grabbed the needed materials from the massive cabinet. She came down here on rare occasions, namely to give her sister a massage after a long day of tiresome CEO meetings and business deals, and vice versa. Alice even told her she'd do the same for Jervis, and vice versa on that, as well.

She turned around to see him getting on the table, towel wrapped around his slim, feminine waist. He smirked at her as he laid himself facedown, turning his head the opposite way on the pillow under his head. Iris giggled as she walked over to where he lay. She unscrewed the lid of the Aromatic Massage Oil named Pleasure Garden, doused her hand with some of the light, silky-smooth fluid, and began to rub it on the fragile surface of Jonathan's back. Sensual touching released a powerful sex hormone called oxytocin, which increases a man or woman's testosterone levels and ignited their sex drive. The seductive silky feel of oil being rubbed on skin was a turn-on for more passionate sex - and that was the point.

He moaned and murmured nonsensical phrases as she administrated the therapy he probably hadn't ever experienced in his life. Iris groaned with him, as the feel of his back under her hands paired with the skin-nourishing oils, an enticing fragrance filling her nostrils and giving a powerful effect on her mind, body, and spirit, no doubt doing the same to her Jonathan. The essential oils included Italian jasmine, rose, lavender, and sandalwood. Touch someone you care for with the light and silky smooth blends of Aromatic Massage Oils…

When Iris found herself caressing him above the towel, which covered his backside, she felt herself throb in the nether region of her black silk shorts. An idea came to her mind - particularly with the jar of Oil of Love that rested beside her - as she lightly fingered the towel before reaching to pull it down to around his knees. A gasp of surprise sounded from Jonathan as his smooth, round buttocks were revealed to her, but he said nothing. He remained lying as he was as Iris continued to stare at it, the feeling between her thighs growing. She picked up the little orange-colored jar, opening it to give Jonathan the feeling of his life. The Oils of Love collection was used primarily on the erogenous areas of the body - the females' were the breasts, the back of her knees, neck, thighs, and buttocks - and gave off a delicious scent and irresistible warmth. The aroma of tropical mango flared her nose senses as she did the same routine to the back of his neck, his back, then down to his firm, round cheeks. Her face flushed with the heat of embarrassment, partly due to the fact that she'd never touched this part of him before…but the feel of this under her hands felt so damn good…

A deep sigh broke her out of her reverie, and she looked down to see his face in relaxed content, eyes closed as if sleeping, mouth slightly agape and letting out little noises of enjoyment. But then he began to turn over on his back, prompting her to stop what she was doing. Did he want her to stop? Iris opened her mouth to ask him when he began to make little gestures with his hands from his thighs to his groin and finally his chest. He wanted her to touch him with the oil in those places.

Of course, she ended up using more of the sweet-smelling formula, going over his chest as gestured, making his nipples harden beneath her palms, over his hardening member and its surrounding now-glistened dark patch, and finally his lean, pale thighs. The whole time, Jonathan was looking up at her with that same look in his eye…that look of languid heat and intense lust. He then looked down at his erect sex and back up to her, winking as he spread his legs apart and bent his knees, inviting her in. The bothersome heat below her stomach couldn't take the wait anymore as she immediately divested herself of her shorts and climbed on top of him, keeping her knees bent and her legs outside his arms. The feel of his stiff length in her once more made her horny as it did earlier, but this was much stronger than before as they were in the Middle Eastern-themed spa room. She leaned back a little, supporting herself on her palms, bucking herself against him gently to let him know that she was letting him take charge this way now, that he had the power to bring himself pleasure from her. He grinned as he began to thrust his hips up and down.

Iris gasped and shuddered as pleasure rushed through her like before. Thank God for the Kama Sutra, she thought. Now she knew Jonathan had read it before, too, but she couldn't figure out when or where, but the clear purpose had been to get some help on how to make their relationship work in a physical manner. Well, he was an amazing lover whether it had been from the help of the book or his own experience.

This angle was perfect for genital stimulation - and left the hands free to wander. Iris brought her hands up to his slim calves and up to the fuller thighs, reaching under to cup both sides of his fleshy buttocks. His thrusts slowed down to a rhythmic tempo in time with the relaxing music that had been playing for less than an hour, but by then he had reached his climax and erupted in a heat of liquid pleasure inside her, lowering his tired legs back onto the slab to catch his breath.

They made love one more time in the spa room after that. After his "massage", they'd taken to the pool of the spa, in accordance to a position called the "bubbly back float", in which she reclined on the rim with her arms stretched out to her sides, holding on to the edge of the pool for support. Jonathan had knelt between her legs, facing her, and lifted her by the backs of her thighs so she was floating off the seat and he could enter her and do all the work. But after that, they cleaned up in their separate bathrooms and rejoined downstairs for dinner, and retired to their separate rooms for the night, because if they had the need to touch each other again, Iris would never be able to walk at work the next morning.

But that did not stop her from dwelling on the fact that her newly-discovered sex life - or rather lovemaking, which sounded much lovelier and deeper than simply sex - was far better than she'd imagined it…and so incredible.

Whoo, bless the Kama Sutra - both the book AND product line and bless Morocco for the hamman experience. :D