The Twelve Tables Ch. 03

Peri busied herself in the kitchen losing herself in the act of cooking, feeling an overwhelming desire to make something that would tempt him as much as her nakedness seemed to. She began cooking using small rounds of flatbread to create small gourmet style pizzas, watching from the corner of her eye as Josh got out of the bath and pulled on his boxers and released the water. It occurred to her that it seemed unfair for him to be putting on clothes until she heard the door and saw him disappear through it.

Peri placed the pizza's in the oven carefully and began to tidy up the small amount of mess she had created, she had learned over the last month that Josh detested mess and clutter demanding organisation from those around him as well as himself. She smiled to herself knowing his dislike for her own bedroom at home which was cluttered with keepsakes, memories and dreams. Posters of places she dreamed of visiting covered walls and books stacked precariously beside overfull shelves, he had complained on more than one occasion about the chaos of her room. It was one place though, in her life that she did not consider adjusting for him because it was the one place that was truly hers and while she may share it with him from time to time, it was who she was so to speak.

Josh returned from the car, rain drops sprinkled over his face and shoulders. He carried a box and what appeared to be a pirate chest on top of it. Putting the boxes on the low table near the sofa, Josh walked to the kitchen moving behind her to wrap his arms around her body. He bent low murmuring in her ear, "You are so fucking hot, I could take you again right now. First though, where is my food, woman?" He said the last with a cheeky smirk half expecting her to arc up at the sexist remark, but she just smiled cheekily and bent forward pressing her ample ass into his covered groin and opened the oven to check the pizza's. Josh groaned and let go of her stepping back and smacking her cheeky ass before turning to the wine rack to open a bottle of wine to drink while they ate.

Peri pulled the flatbread pizza from the oven and cut the small circles into slices decorating a platter for them to share. Taking some napkins and two plates she placed everything on the table as Josh grabbed two glasses and joined her. Picking up his glass he motioned for her to follow his lead and touched his glass to hers, "Here's to us, a beautiful beginning to a wonderful weekend and the delights that are yet to come."

Peri grinned at him and took a sip of her wine, "This is lovely, Josh," she said quietly, "Not just the wine, the cabin and everything but being here with you, alone, like this," she reached out and trailed a finger down his chest a small blush creeping into her cheeks acknowledging her own nakedness.

Leaning over and kissing her he smiled, "I think we both needed a weekend away, don't you?"

They talked as they ate about the lunch with his family and how much he had thought she had charmed his brothers, explaining that Dante was not usually so easy to bring out of his shell.

"I don't think Nik, likes me much," Peri whispered, "She's a bit intimidating don't you think?"

Josh chuckled, "Well that's one way to put it. Nik's a full blown bitch to everybody, even the people she likes." His face became more serious as he took Peri's hand, "Nik loves you because I love you, simple as that."

"I am not so sure." Peri said out loud and smiled up at him, but her mind caught at the warning Lucy had given her as they left the bathroom during the lunch, "Be careful of Nik, she is very protective of Josh." It took another minute, but her head snapped up in recognition of his words, he said he loved her, did she need to say it back, was it too late to acknowledge the words, oh wow, he loved her? Her eyes went misty, Peri wasn't sure if it was his words alone or the turmoil she felt hearing them that made her feel their emotion, or the fact that she had acknowledged what he said about Nik rather than that he loved her. The mistiness made her realise she was almost in tears.

"What's wrong?" Josh grabbed her hand and looked deep into her misty eyes.

"You love me?" She barely whispered.

"Too soon?" He countered.

"Oh, Josh no," she moved her chair out and moved quickly to sit on his lap and embrace him, brushing her lips against his, "I love you too," she said meaning it and surprising herself with the depth at which she felt its meaning. "I was just startled. I mean, well, your, you and I am," she dropped her eyes and flushed pink, "Well, I am me. We don't exactly ...." Her voice petered out not wanting him to realise he had made a mistake and take the words back.

"Yes, we do exactly," he said forcefully. "You are exactly the woman I want." He lifted her chin to look into her eyes, "You are intelligent, giving, brave, curious, and oh so much more including the sexiest woman I know. Do you know how hard it is for me at work knowing exactly what your body looks like under those sedate librarian-esque clothes you wear?" He rolled his eyes dramatically.

Peri grinned and squirmed in his lap. He made her feel so good and as usual chased all her doubts and insecurities away with just the look in his eyes as they devoured her. She had no words to reply, so she kissed him again slowly and deeply, pressing her breasts to his chest. "You make me feel so, so," she was at a loss for words, "wonderful! More confident, prettier, able to take the snide remarks made because I am not..." she stopped and bit her lip as Josh's brow creased at her words.

"Tell me," he stated not letting on that Pete had already informed him Sabrina's comments and off hand dismissal of the woman he loved.

"Oh it's nothing, honestly. I just over reacted to office gossip this morning. Nothing I can't deal with," she gave him what she hoped was a dazzling smile and kissed him.

"Mm," he murmured gripping her breast and squeezing until she gasped and broke the kiss. "I have ways of making you talk," he smirked at her, and she could see the glint in his eye as his finger ran over the necklace that hugged her throat reminding her of her agreement to do what he asked while she wore it.

Considering him she sighed, "I took an off hand comment to heart, the other person didn't even realise I would care, I shouldn't be so thinned skinned," she smiled lopsidedly. "Apparently someone in the office thought I had a crush on you. The person who told me this also assured me that she told them, that I wasn't your type and that you would never date a frumpy little awkward girl like me."

"You know otherwise though. I not only want you, but I love you," he chuckled his hands still playing with her breasts as she spoke.

"I guess it's just that," she paused, feeling silly admitting this while she sat here in this position with him, "That, no one will ever see me as being good enough to be with you."

"Don't you think I am the best judge of what is good for me," he growled.

"Of course! But the barb stung none the less, probably more so because I was just about to meet your sister and I didn't want to embarrass you," she looked up through her lashes believing he may just come to his senses once it was pointed out just how much of a mismatch she was for him. "You know," she pressed, "Josh Craig debonair editor, one of the city's most eligible bachelors and a mousy little research assistant, you can't blame people for believing it could never happen."

"Here I was praising you for intelligence, and that was one of the dumbest things I have ever heard," his eyes stared at her in disbelief. Her lack of ego and self importance had been one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place, he just hadn't realised how deep her lack of self-worth ran. "Josh Craig, eligible bachelor only because he had never found his perfect match," he corrected her, "Until now." His face was deadly serious.

"Did you ever consider that my friends and even my brothers didn't quite believe that a self-obsessed, control freak like me could get a nice girl like you to date me?" Josh questioned her with a raised eyebrow and she burst out laughing.

"You left out tyrannical," she laughed all the more, "If yoru going to tell a whopper like that make it a good one," she said shaking her head, "I don't believe you for one moment but thank you for saying that," she kissed him. Josh groaned as Peri pressed against him and kissed him deeply. He was about to give her a lengthy rebuttal but decided on a different course of action.

He smacked her ass making her yelp and smirked as she leaned back from the kiss. "Clean up the mess before we get completely distracted," he smirked, his hands running down up and down her ribs and over her hips. Reluctantly Peri got up from Josh's lap and turned to take the plates to the kitchen. Josh stood and put on some music, then taking his wine moved over to the sliding glass doors. With his glass of wine in hand, he opened them wide to let in the slight breeze and stepped out onto the balcony. Breathing deeply, he looked out on the dark hills and the distant twinkling lights of the nearby town, he was happy, truly happy here with Peri.

Peri watched him as she cleared the table, washed the few plates setting them to drip dry and stored the leftover over's in the fridge. If the weather turned sunny, maybe they could picnic in the vineyard tomorrow, though that would call for clothes she laughed to herself. Peri was happy too. She liked doing the little things for him like cooking and cleaning up. The conversation they had just had made her feel more comfortable about being with him like this. Maybe his brothers had said that in a teasing way, she thought. Pieri picked up her glass and joined Josh on the balcony looking out at the scenery. Still uncomfortable with her nakedness she turned her side to the landscape and pressed her body up against his as he wrapped an arm about her.

He had planned to take her a hundred different ways this weekend showing her the depths of his darkness. Sex between them had always been rough and harsh, he asserted his dominance and control over her in the bedroom more so than anywhere else and she seemed to embrace the mild pain and humiliating dirty talk he doled out to her and crave more. He considered the chest on the table, and all the toys it contained before looking down into her up turned face. Glad to have had the intimate conversation with her over dinner he felt closer to her. They had declared love for each other, he felt as if he had known her far longer than the actual time they had been together and if he had been sure she wouldn't run away from the enormity of the moment he could have proposed right then so sure he was that she was his other half, his soul mate. "Live in the moment Joshua," he reminded himself and bent to kiss her.

They stood on the balcony and finished their wine content in the silence of the others company. Peri marvelled at her depth of feeling, she had admitted she loved him, and she did. She couldn't believe the closeness and depth of feeling that had come about so quickly between them. Her rational analytical mind told her it was lust not love but her heart told her otherwise and she smiled up at the man who had captivated her so entirely. Taking his empty glass from his hand she inquired, "More wine?"

"No," he shook his head slowly, "That's not what I want right now," the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. Peri turned to take the glasses back into the small kitchen and wash them, Josh followed taking a bottle of cold water from the fridge and chugging down half of it before offering it to her. Peri shook her head, but her pressed it on her saying, "You need to stay hydrated," with a wink.

Peri giggled and took the water taking a few large sips before handing it back. Draining the bottle and throwing it in the bin Josh picked her up and kissed her deeply, walking to the sofa with her. Sitting with her cradled to him he spoke softly, "I meant what I said earlier, I love you, I want you, I need you in my life, and I want you to understand what that fully entails. How I am different from other men you may have been with." His eyes searched hers for understanding.

"Don't you realise you are already so different from anyone else I have ever dated? How much I love and care for you? There is nothing you could tell me or ask of me right at this moment that would change that," she said earnestly, surprising herself in the process. "Tell me how you are so different."

His voice was still soft, and his words considered, "When we are here, in this place and you wear that necklace I want more than anything to have a Dominant and submissive relationship, with you."

Her eyes widened staring in bewilderment. With the amount of research she had done on the subject, it was something that both excited and scared her, and she wasn't exactly sure of how she felt. They had always had rough, hard sex but to submit and call herself a slave for him, she was unsure of how she felt about that. Her mind went back a few hours earlier when he had bound her wrists and played her body like a well honed instrument and realised she had already been on this road to submission without even knowing it. "You mean, like, whips and chains and things?"

"More like pleasure and pain, dominance and submission, control and obedience. I am sure what I have in mind is not as extreme as some of the things floating in her head right now," As he spoke, his hands toyed with her nipples, making her gasp and squirm not only from his touch but from the idea of giving herself so wholly to him.

"I've always been a very dominant personality, you can't argue that, I know they call me a control freak down in the research dungeon," he grinned lightening the mood a little. "Peri, this is just an extension of who I truly am. And the whips and chains, as you put it, they're just tools, toys if you will, that will bring us both pleasure." Josh hugged her to him, "You haven't shied away from anything I have given you to read or discuss with me, or anything we have done together, this is just the next natural step."

"You have been grooming me for this?" She asked, the bewilderment in her voice didn't mask her curiosity or excitement as she continued to squirm in the seat.

"No!" He exclaimed feeling her accusation in the words, "Haven't I always been a demanding and controlling man? I gave you the research originally to see how you would react, and your enjoyment at the art gallery we went to was clear for anyone to see." he smirked tweaking her nipple. Peri blushed remembering the sheer blouse and her braless state during their first date. "If you had not been so surprisingly willing and slutty that night, we may not be here right now," He chuckled, but we are and this is what I want."

There was something about his voice, when he called her a slut or used dirty talk on her that reached down and squeezed her cunt making her wetter. She flushed knowing what he said was true she was slutty for him, she enjoyed teasing him and the hungry looks he gave her that drove her own desire for him and made her bolder.

"I've dreamed of this moment from that first time we spoke down in the research dungeon," he took in her raised eyebrows, "Yes, that is when I knew I wanted you, that very first day. Intelligent, feisty, brave and wow what a rack," he squeezed her breasts again. "It took time though, to be sure, and for you not to be so scared of the tyrannical madman that stalked the halls of your workplace," he spoke easier now that she had not immediately run away from his disclosure, "So I took advantage of that time to introduce you to the things I want and need in my life, by giving you that research on slavery and submission."

"You have always been such an independent person, in your thinking and the way you live your life. In the last month I have watched your reactions to my commands, your willingness to give in and to disarm my anger when I am being a little unreasonable like Thursday night," he cupped her face and kissed her, "No one has ever understood me as you do, knowing when to give in and when to stand your ground. It amazes me daily how good you are for me." He could see the curiosity deep in her eyes as well as the love she had for him. He knew her answer already, but he needed to hear it from her. "I want to show you levels of pleasure and passion and erotic pain beyond your wildest fantasies, I want you to explore this side of my nature with me. Please my love, trust me, above all else I will keep you safe." He felt the quivers of her body as he his glided over her soft skin.

She was still silent, so he went on, "You need to understand, Peri, for me, this something I have dreamed about for months, since our first meeting long before our first date," A small frown line appeared between his eyebrows as he sat trying to read her expression. "We will take it slowly, my love, step by exquisite step, building your responses to me, mine to you. You will always be able to say no, Peri, always."

"Would I call you Master or Sir?" She asked quietly as he finally seemed to run out of words.

"No!" He shook his head, thinking of the other sex slaves and submissives he knew who called every dominant Sir or Master. "I don't want a fantasy sex slave who has no passion for the one using her. I want a real Dominant and submissive relationship, with a real woman, built on love and mutual understanding," His face softened, "I would like you to call me Mine when we are here or when you wear that necklace." He knew the place and the necklace would become unnecessary in time, but for now he would give her the props necessary to accept her place even though she was far more submissive than any woman he had ever dated before that hadn't been trained to be so.

She smiled slightly liking the word and turned her face up to him, "I am yours and you are Mine." Peri said simply.

"Yes," the satisfaction in his voice as he said that single word, and the hunger in his eyes excited her all the more. They could have their normal lives she thought, and this would be a thrilling part of their personal lives. Truthfully it didn't seem to her that it would be much different from how they were when they were together any other time.

Josh put his hand on the pirate style chest he had carried in, "This," he said, "Is my tool box and also your toy box." He smiled at the glittering excitement in her eyes as she looked from the box to him. "It is only to be opened when we are together," he teased her, his hand trailing down to the latch, "I will show you what it holds tomorrow, my love." He chuckled at the look of disappointment on her face and leaned in to kiss her picking her up from the sofa and carrying her to the bed. "Tonight we will have what might actually be our first but will definitely be our last encounter with soft vanilla sex, where you can move of your own free will, and not at my express command," his smile was wide as he hinted at the delights of the next two days.

Peri too tried to think if they had ever made love in a soft sensual way and couldn't quite place it with the lust filled intense and often harsh encounters that usually accompanied their sexual escapades. They lay beside each other, face to face, kissing and letting their hands roam over their bodies. Josh restrained every instinct he felt about pinning her to the bed and fucking her brains out as he allowed the slow gentle pace to continue.

Peri became frustrated with the slow pace and his lack of control over her, realising how much of his demanding control was part of their sex life. She tried to excite him into action by licking down his chest and over his belly to his cock, but as she started to lick his long hard shaft she felt him move her body into a sixty-nine position and his talented tongue delve between her folds. Bending her head to suck his balls, her hand continued to stroke him as she whimpered her pleasure. She didn't feel the usual surge of tingles and flutters through her body that accompanied the approach of her climax and she began to move her hips wanting more so much more than what he was giving her.