Finding Home

Jasmine smiled at Annabelle, "Best feeling ever isn't it?" She murmured softly.

"Yes," Annabelle responded with a soft smile.

"How long are you staying for again?" Jasmine asked curiously.

Annabelle shrugged, "Until you tell me to go home? It's not like I can't work from here as well as I can from anywhere else. Internet, my computer and my headset and I'm golden, plus I'm on vacation for this coming week."

James looked at Annabelle, then murmured, "So what I'm hearing is... there will be time for more batches of cookies..."

A voice above Annabelle murmured, "...gonna get fat..."

"Yes I can make more cookies," Annabelle murmured softly. "Did you still want me to make pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow?"

Michael stopped petting her hair for a brief moment in amazement before starting again, "Were you having a friend over on vacation or a live-in chef? God, James... are you extorting the poor girl?"

Jasmine raised a hand, "My fault Master Michael. She does all the cooking when she's here. Including the dinner you had tonight."

Annabelle giggled softly, "I like to cook for people that appreciate it, it gets lonely cooking for yourself, so when I'm down I cook for all of us." She shifted slightly to look up at him, "Are you hoping to get a plate too, Master Michael?"

He chuckled, "If it's anything like dinner tonight, only a fool wouldn't."

She smiled up at him, then looked at James, who nodded, "Please join us for dinner, Michael."

Michael nodded at James, then looked down at Annabelle, "I would love to, Annabelle. Thank you."

Annabelle smiled at him, her eyes soft and warm, then turned back to look at Jasmine, who was making a face at her. "No, I'm not making it," Annabelle murmured before Jasmine started pouting, turning on the big watery eyes, and the pouty lower lip causing Annabelle to start giggling softly.

Michael raised an eyebrow, "Making... what?"

"Fettuccine Carbonara," she murmured.

Michael bit back his excitement, before murmuring, "I understand completely. It is a lot of work. The sauce takes forever..."

Annabelle looked up at him, "And making the noodles fresh, because box noodles just aren't the same."

Michael inclined his head. "You are absolutely correct, Annabelle." He glanced up at Jasmine briefly, "That's a lot of work to be asking you to do..."

Annabelle studied his face in silence, "Let me guess... it's your favorite dish?" She mused softly, "Because I know that James's favorite dish is Prime Rib Au Jus, and Jasmine's favorite dish is Beef Bulgogi."

Michael opened his mouth, then closed it and blushed slightly, before murmuring, "Regardless, it's still a lot of work."

"You're worth it," Annabelle murmured, "I'll make it Monday." She stated, ignoring the excited 'yes' from Jasmine. "I'd make it Sunday but I already promised to help Jasmine make pot roast."

He began petting her hair again. "You're a good friend, Annabelle," he said approvingly, before lowering his voice to where his lips were not moving and it was barely a breath, "And a good girl."

She sighed softly in pleasure, melting into his touch and closing her eyes again to savor it. She knew he'd go home soon so decided to just enjoy it while she could. The next couple of hours passed quietly with muted conversation and the four just talking. Finally, Michael sighed, as he looked down at Annabelle, "I'm going to need to get home so I can get some sleep if I'm going to be coherent enough to be back here tomorrow."

She nodded, and pouted as she slowly sat up, reaching up to pull her hair back into a messy ponytail. "OK, Master, would you like me to walk you to the door?"

He looked at her for a long moment, then murmured softly, "I think I'd rather spend extra moments with you than do just about anything else. I would love for you to walk me to the door." He stood and stretched his hand out to her.

She took his hand, rising to her feet with him, and walked with him towards the door, "I... I really enjoyed tonight, Master." She murmured looking up at him with soft warm eyes.

"As did I, Annabelle. More than you can possibly imagine," he murmured, returning her gaze.

She smiled at him as they stood in the doorway, her eyes turning slightly impish, "You asked me a question earlier, and I didn't get a chance to answer it." She tilted her head slightly, "Should I answer it now or save it for another time?"

He smiled at her in return, "I will always be ready to listen to anything you have to tell me, Annabelle."

Annabelle nodded, then stepped forward before lifting up, turning her lips so that only he could hear, "Warm and wet, Master." She relaxed back, to smile into his eyes again.

"Then I will not apologize for monopolizing your time in the latter half of this evening. I do believe that that is the way I would prefer you to feel," he said in a warm, intense voice.

She beamed up at him, "I chose to give you my time, Master." She stepped back slightly, "I'll let you go, and look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

He inclined his head, "Tomorrow then... Annabelle," he murmured, biting back a single word.

She watched him leave, getting into his car and driving away as a slight pout formed on her lips. Jasmine's arms came around her and she rested her chin on Annabelle's shoulder. "You like him."

"Yes, I feel safe with him," Annabelle murmured, "And I have no idea what to do about it. I'm no good at this... people stuff." She sighed, patting Jasmine's arms, "Let's get to bed, you go snuggle your James, just try to keep the noise level down to a dull roar, my noise cancelling headphones work only so well."

Jasmine squeezed her slightly, then bounded off with a laugh, "No promises."

James patted Annabelle on the shoulder, "It'll be fine. He likes you too," He said softly, then turned and followed Jasmine to the room.

+++++++++++++

The weekend passed almost too quickly for Annabelle, and dinner Monday was a rousing success. She tried to hide her sadness when Michael didn't come over on Tuesday. James found Michael in his office on Wednesday morning just after their normal nine a.m. meeting, "You need to come to my house for dinner tonight."

Michael chuckled, "James, I'm trying not to wear out my welcome with you two..."

"Annabelle set a plate out for you last night, then was sad because you weren't there." James said, folding his arms as he looked at his friend and boss. "Besides, you're not wearing out your welcome."

He looked up at James, pain in his eyes. "God damnit...," he sighed. "I didn't mean to..." He rubbed his hands through his hair. "OK. What can I bring?"

James raised a brow, "You, maybe a bottle of that wine you keep stashed in your house." He paused, "She's not upset with you for not coming, she just missed you. She likes your company."

"I missed her too...," Michael trailed off, before chuckling ruefully. "James, you know me. I don't get this nervous about screwing up major business deals, but with her? I'm scared to death I'm going to fuck it up. I've never met anyone like her..."

"Just keep being honest with her," James said, "That was the major issue with her boyfriend, he was never honest with her." He paused for a moment, "Besides, I've heard enough about how much she likes you touching her to last me a lifetime. Plus, maybe you can help Jasmine convince her to move into the city when her lease is up." He smirked at him impishly.

"Oh really...?" he asked, curious. "When is her lease up? If I'm not mistaken, that house down the street from me is opening up here soon. Kid finally finished his PhD at MSU and got a job out in Pennsylvania or something. Some pharma company..."

"End of next month I think," James said, stroking his chin, "Jasmine's trying to convince her to just move into our guest room if she doesn't find something. Doesn't like her living out in the 'dumps' alone." He paused, "They're not dumps, they're perfectly nice furnished apartments, just too far away for Jasmine's taste... and desire for Annabelle's cooking."

Michael chuckled, shaking his head, "Working that poor woman to death, I tell you. Dinners, cookies... Her fingers are going to start falling off soon, just you wait. Then we're going to have to have words, you and me."

"That reminds me," James pulled a tupperware from his backpack and set it on the desk, "Your lunch, Michael."

He looked at it, then up at James. "She didn't...," he trailed off.

"She did," James said, grinning at him. "She gave me strict instructions to give this to you."

Michael looked at the tupperware for long moments, completely overcome. James had never seen him so close to tears over something so simple. They had had employees lose relatives, one even lost a wife, and wept with them. But it was a tupperware of food.

James smiled softly, reaching over to pat his shoulder, "So, see you tonight at dinner?"

Michael nodded. "I'll... uh...," he glanced down at his tablet that had his calendar open on it. "I'll take off at four and swing by the house to pick up some wine. I should be there by five fifteen or five thirty and we can put it on ice for a six o'clock?" His voice was still thick and his gaze kept flicking back to the tupperware.

"Sounds great, I'll let the ladies know," he turned to head for his own office, "I think there might be a note, but I'm not sure." He gave Michael a smile, then walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.

Michael looked, and sure enough, there was a note stuck to the bottom of the tupperware. Opening it up, he read, "Missed you last night. I hope work is going OK. I realized we never exchanged comm numbers, so I'm going to take a leap and give you mine. Feel free to text me when you need or want. Love, Annabelle"

Michael chuckled and sniffed at the same time, rubbing the tears that were about to form from his eyes. "What a woman... You better not fuck this up, Mike," he muttered to himself. He picked up his own comm and sent off a text, 'To the most amazing and thoughtful woman I have ever met, Thank you for thinking of lunch. It means more than you can know. I look forward to seeing you tonight again. I can honestly say that there is nothing I would rather do. Yours, Michael.'

Annabelle looked at her commlink, a smile appearing on her lips, she quickly saved the text number under 'Master' before replying. "I can't wait. I hope you enjoy your lunch, Master. Yours, Annabelle."

Even though it had only been a few days, Michael was starting to get the notion that the reason she had taken to simply calling him Master, instead of Master Michael was not because she didn't understand the implications. The thought caused him to smile, and even swell a little with pride, that such a woman would potentially wish to submit to him. He set his commlink down, put the food in his cooler, and turned to start his work again.

Annabelle started the crockpot for the dinner tonight, then piled into Jasmine's car as they went cruising to look at houses and apartments. "I'm thinking a three or four bedroom," Annabelle murmured. "I need space for my office, and maybe a guest room."

"Well, what's your price limit?"

"Three, I could probably go to three and a half, but it'd tighten my moving expenses and limit the amount of furniture I could start with." Annabelle responded, "I'd prefer to keep it down to two, two and a half."

They pulled up to a driveway to a modest house, it was a two story, with a finished basement four bedroom. Annabelle got out and got the flyer, looking at it for a minute before climbing back into the car. "Why aren't you using a realtor to find you a house?"

"Honestly... I don't know. I guess I just want to look at the houses before I actually get pushed towards buying." Annabelle murmured softly, "If I'm buying, I don't want to make a snap judgement. I want it to be the right house, for the right price."

"Well this one is only twenty minutes from my house," Jasmine said with a sing-song giggle.

"Yes, yes it is." The two continued driving, Annabelle noticed that Jasmine stayed within a short range of where their house was, and Annabelle rolled her eyes, "You're adorable."

By the time they got back, it was late afternoon and Annabelle went to take a quick shower and change into one of the few dresses she had brought with her as Jasmine did the same. She took a minute to call about the house and made arrangements to see it Friday.

Annabelle started setting the table, and checked on the dinner as the time clicked down, at five she went to her room so that Jasmine could greet James when he came in, not wanting to interrupt their evening greetings with her presence. At five fifteen she stepped out of the room, and returned to the living room, the giddy smiles on Jasmine and James' face told her all she needed to know.

Jasmine beamed up at her, "Thank you, Annabelle."

"Happy to help," Annabelle murmured before sitting down, sweeping the dress under her legs, "How was your day James? Did you get a lot of work done?"

"It was good, I had several meetings with my boss, but it was productive." James said, giving her a smile as he petted Jasmine. "Michael will be here shortly.

Annabelle wrinkled her nose, "I'm completely obvious aren't I?"

"Yes, yes you are, but it's adorable." Jasmine interjected.

A few seconds later the doorbell rang and Annabelle rose to her feet to answer it, "I've got it," she smiled up at Michael as she opened the door, "Welcome, Master."

He smiled at her warmly, eyes soft with a faint undertone of something else that looked almost like possession. "Thank you, Annabelle. How are you today?"

"I am well," she smiled, stepping back slightly and tilting her head, "How was your work today, Master?" She asked as she gracefully took his coat and hung it on the coat hook.

"This amazing woman I know went to all the trouble to send me lunch despite the fact that I didn't show up for dinner last night," he said softly. "I was... overwhelmed."

She tilted her head, giving him a sweet smile, "Then maybe you should give the woman a hug, Master."

He smiled, murmuring, "That's a marvellous idea." Slowly he turned and slid his arms around her waist pulling her close. His face turned into her neck and he rumbled softly, "You smell fantastic, Annabelle."

She melted into the hug, resting her head on his shoulder exposing her neck to him trustingly, "I did get out of the shower recently," she whimpered. Her body shivered at the feel of his warm breath on her neck. "You smell wonderful, Master."

He chuckled, "I smell like factory. There wasn't enough time to shower before coming here, but thank you." Reluctantly, he slowly relaxed and stood.

She sighed softly, with a slight whimper, squeezing him one last time before releasing him, looking up at him softly, "That's going to be as addictive as your fingers in my hair." She turned and walked him into the living room, relieving him of the bottle of wine and carrying it into the kitchen to put it on ice.

Michael sat down on the couch that was not occupied and looked at James and Jasmine, "So, how is the evening looking?"

James rubbed his hand absently through Jasmine's hair, "You know... it's shaping up to be a pretty good evening. Family's all here. Food's going to be good. You just can't really ask for more than that most of the time."

Michael nodded, "Amen, brother. Amen." He turned his head and watched Annabelle come back into the room, smiling at her, "How has your week been so far?"

Her eyes softened as she happily returned his smile, "So far so good, Master." She sat down next to him, then looked up at him hopefully. He nodded with a smile, she beamed, then curled up next to him, putting her head in his lap again as he began to stroke her hair gently.

"That's good. And these two... are they treating you OK?" he glowered a bit at Jasmine and James, the latter grinning at him.

"Yes, Jasmine and I went looking at houses today, I found a couple of cute ones in my price range." Annabelle paused, "Of course Jasmine refuses to look any further away than twenty minutes, so that limits the number of houses available," she looked up at him, then said in an almost whisper, "I think she's addicted to my food, Master."

"What did I say?" he asked. At her look of confusion, he murmured with a smile, "Controlled substance..."

She giggled softly, her eyes warm and soft as she looked up at him, "So I guess they'd need a prescription, Master. One cookie per diem?"

Jasmine huffed, "You wouldn't... that's evil."

Michael shook his head, then looking down at Annabelle, he nodded, "One cookie per day. Between them. Let them fight over it." Looking back up at Jasmine, he smirked, "THAT'S evil."

Annabelle laughed, a soft squeak escaping before she covered her mouth to stifle the giggles at the matching affronted looks he was getting from James and Jasmine. "Excellent idea, Master."

Michael melted into the couch again as he stroked her hair once more, "You're hiding my laughs again, Annabelle...," he murmured softly.

She lowered her hands slowly, "I'm sorry, Master. I'll work on that." She gave him a sweet smile, then tucked into him, completely relaxing.

"Good girl...," he murmured softly, continuing to pet her hair.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the soothing motions as she softly murmured, just loud enough for him to hear, "Yours, Master." She cleared her throat, "So tonight's dinner is going to be fairly simple, curried chicken and rice. Does that sound good, Master?"

Michael blinked, but recovering quickly, he nodded, "That sounds wonderful. About how long do we have?"

"Twenty five minutes, give or take," she murmured softly, "Just waiting on the rice cooker. We planned for dinner at six."

"Back porch?" he asked softly.

She lifted her head noting his warm smile, "Of course, if that is your wish, Master." She rose to her feet, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Michael led them to the back porch and, when the door had closed, slid his arm around her waist and pulled her around to where they could not be seen easily. His face was close, close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath. "Annabelle... I'm trying not to push faster than you are comfortable, but... the way you keep calling me Master instead of Master Michael like the others, the way you feel when I pet you, when I hold you, is making it difficult. Is that something you are meaning to do? Or is it simply an honorific? Because...," he trailed off. "I can't get you out of my mind, and I don't really want to try anymore." He looked at her intently, that look of desire and possession was back.

Annabelle's mouth went dry, and she blushed slightly, "Jasmine told me that's what I'm supposed to do when I felt I was ready for more... Am I doing it wrong?" She bit her lower lip, pushing her fingers together as she dropped her gaze, her brow furrowed. "I'm trying to understand, and learn the life so..." she trailed off.

He reached up with one hand and cupped her chin, lifting her gaze again. Looking into her eyes with unabashed need, he murmured thickly, "God no, Annabelle. You're doing it exactly right. I just wanted to make sure... I didn't want to pressure, or make you uncomfortable...," he trailed off. Swallowing, he murmured, "What more would you like? What is it that you want, Annabelle? What are you ready for that I can give to you?"

She swallowed, biting her lip, the blush not leaving her cheeks as she murmured, "I... feel safe with you." She paused for a moment, "but I don't know the answer to those questions... I... more?" She trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment then looking up at him, biting her lower lip, "Maybe... umm... traffic lights?" She asked, her tone confused and hopeful, "Like, we use the traffic light system... green I'm good, yellow I need to slow down, red I'm not ready... yet."