The Twelve Zenati Pt. 17

"Certainly." He picked up a pearl and diamond ring and placed it on the ring pad before her. "The style is a little off-centre, but it is balanced to the eyes. The setting is held by a slimmer band, which suits your petite hands," the man said before immediately selecting another from the drawer. "This is one of my favourites, but probably the least traditional-looking." He held up the second ring rather than placing it on the ring cushion. "It's black gold, and the infill is fire opal and, as you can see, the upper arm of the twist is infilled with diamonds. It's truly stunning and changes colour slightly in direct sunlight." He moved the ring around slightly, to demonstrate, before placing it on the cushion for her to try on.

"Black gold, it looks so... matte. I would have expected gold of any description to be shinier," Marcella said distractedly as she placed the ring on her finger and wiggled it, watching the colours change.

"This one," he began, without responding to what she said, as he held up the third ring.

"I think this is the one," she said, barely glancing at the new ring, before going back to examining the ring on her finger. "Now I just have to get goofy pants here to get down on one knee and ask me to marry him properly," she giggled to the salesman girlishly.

"They all want a grand gesture these days," Noah shrugged and the salesman's expression sympathised with him. "I'd do it right here and now, but there aren't quite enough witnesses. I'd like the world to know we're getting married!" He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her to him, lowering his head to kiss her, before she realised his intention.

"Happy brides-to-be would hardly be pushing their fiancé away," he whispered in her ear as she placed her hands on his chest.

"I'm sure that the world doesn't care about whether we get married or not," Marcella giggled girlishly, again. "Lucky for you, I do," she laughed and pulled him down to kiss her, this time allowing him to deepen the kiss.

Noah stepped back from the kiss after a moment, cognizant of the salesman watching them and waiting for Marcella to either take off the ring or for him to pay for it before their public display of affection went any further. He was beginning to see her moves to take control, not only of her plans that he would now be a part of, but of all their interactions. If he kissed her, she bristled and pulled away but then, almost immediately, came back at him with a kiss of her own, one she initiated and controlled. He was both irritated and thrilled by this insight into her thinking, and he began to consider how to work it to his advantage.

Taking a platinum card from his wallet, he handed it to the salesman, who took it with eager relief. Then he took Marcella's hand and studied the ring. It was beautiful, not what he would have chosen, but this whole situation was not what he would have chosen. He gave a small laugh and kissed her hand, brushing his lips across her knuckles, smiling wider as she looked at him in surprise.

"Will we have him box the ring up, so that I can ask you properly?" he asked. "Some sort of grand gesture?" he teased.

"No, I think I will just wear it. I don't want to take it off now that I have it." Marcella batted her eyes at Noah. "I'm sure that I will hear many women's hearts shattering into a million pieces once we walk out of that door, and I am looking forward to it."

"As long as you tell everyone that it was the most romantic proposal ever," he chuckled. "Although having an actual story to tell them would be better. I have an idea, trust me?"

"No," she laughed. "Besides, it's my turn to..." She turned to eye the salesman before continuing, "make plans."

"No arguments from me. It was just a suggestion of something that I thought you might like, rather than going straight back to StarCity," Noah said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Maybe another time."

Marcella narrowed her eyes at him. Noah was far too amenable. Even with the agreement, she had thought that he would chafe at having to give her the lead on all things. They had stipulated the lead with her plans, but she was taking control over all their interactions and had expected him to rebel, at least a little, but he was being far too calm about the situation. It made her curious as to why and what he had been about to suggest.

"Sure, you can tell me about it over dinner," she said with a little too much flippancy, and he raised an eyebrow at her again. There was something else going on with him, she was sure of it now. She just had to find out what.

The sales clerk provided Noah with the receipt and an empty ring box, in case they changed their mind about the grand gesture he had in mind for proposing publicly. Then they left the store and walked back to the car in silence.

"Would you like me to drive?" he asked when they were a few steps from the car. He was working out quickly tha, if he wanted something, he had to make it either her choice or her idea, or she would just shut him down. It was going to be a long two weeks unless he learned how to play her game. He didn't mind too much, however, because, as he had warned her repeatedly, she was setting a precedent for what would happen when he was finally in control of this game that they were playing.

"Sure, you can even choose the restaurant that you are taking me to for dinner," she said magnanimously. "Just not anywhere, please. We might bump into people we know."

"Okay," he drew out the word, surprised by her sudden acquiescence on the driving and dinner. He opened the passenger's side door for her and held it open while she looked at him.

"Thanks, but I am not an old lady or an invalid. I can manage a car door on my own," she murmured testily.

"How do you feel about Indian food?" he asked, realising that he didn't know a great deal about her preferences as they usually ate in the same locations.

"I like Indian food," she said, as if the choice was of no consequence, and once again, they travelled in silence, until Noah pulled up at a small suburban restaurant.

"Madrina would sometimes order takeaway food from here. It was her secret indulgence, but she didn't fool any of us, and it became a thing as we got older. When we were in big trouble, we picked up some curry and took it home for her to soften the consequences," Noah explained.

"Did it work?" Marcella asked, surprised by this insight into his past.

"Not as often as we would have liked it to," he laughed. "We got in trouble a lot, and a woman can only eat so much Indian food." He was pleased that she laughed with him as he guided her into the restaurant, and they were shown to their seats by a waitress in a dazzling sari.

"What about you? Did you have tricks for getting out of trouble?" he asked, wondering if she had managed to avoid some of the abuse she had been exposed to as a child.

"I guess kids all have their own tricks. I'm not prepared to give mine away just yet. I still use them from time to time," she winked and studied the menu.

"Probably a good thing. I believe Stevie has a wild, bad-girl side that I am looking forward to seeing," he chuckled again.

"And Freddy North doesn't? There must be a good story to go along with the fact that I am not the only one at this table with a secret identity," she challenged.

"When I'm Freddy, I don't have to worry about the responsibilities that come with being born into a family like mine. I can just kick back, relax and go with the flow," he said easily. "I just assumed that's why you had one."

"True, I'm more of a free-spirit when I am Stevie," she said softly. Not that she had ever had the opportunity to become Stevie before now, but she had daydreamed about it a lot. Once Noah had dropped the professional clothes and demeanour that he always wore like battle armour, he could be quite charming, she thought. "She doesn't get into nearly as much trouble as Marcella does, though. In fact, she avoids trouble at all costs, and you, Freddy, I have no doubt, are trouble personified. Even Madrina calls you the trouble maker," she teased.

"That's where you have it wrong. Noah is the troublemaker. Freddy, just like Stevie, tries to avoid trouble at all costs. Hence my offering you help, so we can both avoid any more trouble. We've both had enough lately, don't you think?" Noah asked, one eyebrow raised.

"And what trouble have you been in lately?" she asked and instantly regretted it. She had been the cause of most of the troublesome situations that Noah had had to endure recently.

"Let's just say that neither of us are angels and leave it at that," he chuckled.

"Tell me some of the trouble that you and your brothers got into as kids?" she asked, knowing she was tempting fate, but she could make up at least one story from her childhood or tell him something that Olivia did.

Noah talked about growing up on the station south of Darwin, as well as coming to stay with Madrina when they went to high school and college. He told more about his brother's antics than his own, and she reciprocated by telling a modified version of one or two happy occasions with her older sister Jessa.

"You see, the problem was not getting out of the house that night. It was getting back in, in the middle of the night. Olivia woke up screaming, and my father came rushing in, and we were busted," she said, her voice trailing off with the remembered consequences of that amazing night. He didn't press her on it, though. Instead, he redirected her thoughts.

"And, here, I thought that Jessa was the quiet, angelic one of the three of you," Noah chuckled as they stood and left the restaurant.

"You would," she said and rolled her eyes, but her good humour remained. Marcella couldn't believe the change in Noah and how easy it had been to just be in the moment with him, like they were on an actual date. Why couldn't he be like this all the time? Whatever guard he'd had up around her in recent weeks seemed to have dropped, and he was back to being the super-sweet guy who had picked her up at the airport and flirted with her, until she made a move on him for more than just flirting.

She realised, as she got into the passenger's side of the car without even thinking twice, let alone taking control of the situation, that she had lost her edge from earlier. She needed to gain it back, and she knew just how to do it. Her gender had always been her best tool in her arsenal, some might say weapon.

"This is nice," she said softly, reaching out to graze her fingertip over the collar of his polo shirt once they were on the road again and he couldn't do anything but drive. "I'm so used to seeing you in suits and you cross-examining me, that it's nice to see the more relaxed side of you."

Feeling a shiver run down his spine at the tickling feel of her fingers, Noah smirked at her obvious attempt to get one up on him again. He decided to give as good as he got. His hand moved from the stick shift to caress the hem of her dress that half covered her thigh, enjoying the contrast between fabric and skin as much as the almost-imperceptible gasp that his touch elicited.

"You have probably worn Chanel and Prada as often as I wear a suit. I must say that I liked the casual look on you today too," he said, noting that she had relaxed after his initial touch. He left his hand where it was as the car continued on in cruise control. After a few minutes, Marcella looked down at his hand, but didn't remove it from her leg. 'Interesting,' he thought, and the arrogant smirk reappeared on his face briefly before he schooled his features again.

"Well, a girl has got to compete with Armani and Hugo Boss in the legal world," she laughed, being on safe ground in this topic at least. His hand felt huge on her thigh and covered most of the exposed skin above her knee.

"I would bet that even your underwear is designer label," he grinned, pushing the conversation into territory that he was sure she didn't want it to go into. He felt the muscles in her thigh move, as she curled her toes. He squeezed her thigh, emboldened by the fact that she had not asked him to move it, just to see how she would react.

"You're one to talk," she murmured. Then, refusing to be the first one to concede a point in this bizarre game, Marcella turned slightly in her seat and ran a finger from his collar down his chest to the logo emblazoned there. "And don't bother telling me that you don't know the brand or that it came with a suit, because I don't believe you." Turning her body further toward him had made her skirt rise higher on her thigh. Noah's hand followed her dress' hem and, in a caressing movement, rose higher up her thigh. Marcella drew in a sharp breath.

"Something wrong?" Noah asked belatedly, stifling the small laugh that crept into his voice.

Marcella had considered ending their teasing game until she caught that laughter in his voice. He was laughing at her again! Upping the stakes, she ignored his hand and stroked her own over his chest, finding herself surprised at how muscular his chest felt. While many women spoke about being attracted to men based on their eyes or ass, broad shoulders and a well-defined chest were what did it for her. She let her hand linger over the soft material of the shirt covering his chest as she spoke.

"This is nice, but nothing feels as good as the pure silk of a business shirt, does it?" she suggested, purposely using a soft purring voice, just like the voice she had tried to use on him earlier.

"You have a very bad habit of avoiding my questions," he said and gave her thigh a quick, light smack, before curling his fingers around the soft flesh of her inner thigh and giving her leg a squeeze. "Perhaps I enjoy the feel of pure silk against me in the form of a woman wearing lingerie," he countered, continuing the conversation as if he had never rebuked her.

"I do not avoid your questions," she replied, feigning innocence while letting her hand trail down his body, satisfied with the fact that his breathing had begun to increase and she knew that she was affecting him far more than he was affecting her. Her eyes glanced quickly at his groin, and she smirked. After seeing his large bulge, she knew that she was winning this small battle, despite how aroused she felt.

"Liar," he growled, smacking her thigh lightly again. "Be careful," Noah continued, his voice ominously low. "If you act like a naughty little tease, I will treat you like one."

"You wouldn't dare," she challenged, caught up in the scene they were creating and aroused enough to wish that he would, as she lowered her fingers towards his groin, skating over the muscles of his abs before walking their way over his zipper.

Noah braked hard, then pulled off to the side of the quiet street.

Marcella snapped back to reality, stunned by the speed at which the game she had been playing had gone pear-shaped, and knew that if she backed down now, she would never get the upper hand on him again. She froze in indecision.

There was no indecision in Noah. She had pushed him far enough, it was time to put up or shut up. He undid her seat belt, pulled her awkwardly across the centre console and across his lap. Opening his door widely, to accommodate her head and shoulders, he lifted the hem of her dress and spanked her bottom hard. Surprised that his hand spanked bare flesh, he looked appreciatively at the lace thong before spanking her again, eliciting a tirade of curse words from the sexy woman.

"Stop!" she screamed, flailing her legs around as his free arm tried to hold them in place.

"I'll stop when you admit that you like to tease and have no intention of following through on it. All that fucking teasing, touching my neck and shirt. You're a flirt at heart and need someone to take charge and make you put up or shut up! I'm only human, Marcella! There are only so many times I can walk away from you flirting and teasing me the way you do!" He punctuated his words with more spanks to her increasingly-rosier cheeks.

Her mind rebelled. What the fuck did he know? But the fact was, it was true. Ever since his first rejection of her, she had tried to get under his skin, with no intention of following through. She hated the way that he seemed to be able to read her mind. His sweetness at the restaurant and his large hands on her thigh had only increased her need to get a reaction from him. No matter how much she had treated their bantering like a game, she realised that she wanted this, wanted Noah. Finally, with tears making her perfect make-up run, she cried out, telling him what he wanted to hear.

"Okay I admit it, I like it. I wanted to push you over the edge so that you would lose that fucking arrogance, the cool control that you exercise over everything. Guess I won, huh?" Marcella hung her head, feeling her precarious position as her muscles relaxed and he gently caressed her sore ass. She fully relaxed over his lap for a moment, preparing to fight her way back to her seat. She could feel his hard-on pressing into her belly, which only served to arouse her even more. If he was hard, then he couldn't claim that he wasn't interested in sex with her. Would he still reject her, and more importantly, would she make good on her revenge by rejecting him?

Noah could smell her arousal. He was surprised. He would have thought that she would have been a top, given her past, and had made peace with that fact. He had moved on to considering how he would negotiate fucking her so they would both be satisfied. He would never have guessed that she had such a submissive side hidden behind the tough-bitch, professional woman persona she radiated at the world. His cock was hard and throbbing as he looked down on the beautiful woman in such a vulnerable position, and his heart skipped a beat. She was his one, and now, more than ever, he wanted to make that a reality. But going too fast could ruin it all. He didn't want to be just another guy she fucked and left before she became invested in the relationship.

Opening the door had triggered the dome light and both reading lights, filling the car with bright light. He caressed the bright, rosy pink skin of her bare ass before his hand slid between her thighs, his fingers grazing over the lacy thong just to feel how wet she was. Her heated whimpers rose up to his ears, and he continued to tease at the folds, pulling her thong up to add further sensation. He pushed her panties to the side as his fingers entered her, and he felt her moist heat.

"Once again you haven't answered me properly." His free hand smacked her ass again, making her squeal and buck. "You're a big tease, aren't you?"

Marcella whimpered, and began to struggle against him to get free. Her senses were returning, and she needed to get out of this position, before he pushed his advantage any further.

"Answer the question, Marcella," he said sternly, but didn't raise his voice as he continued to tease her.

"Yes, I was teasing you," she snarled angrily, despite the thrill of pleasure running up her spine and filling her tummy with butterflies.

"You need consequences, Marcella. You need a man who can treat you the way that you deserve to be treated when you push too far, don't you?" He pressed her with his words as his fingers moved in and out of her tight wet pussy. "Super bitch by day and a naughty tease, who needs to follow through on her promises, at night," he smirked, knowing she couldn't see him and enjoying her struggles as she both writhed in the pleasure that she felt and squirmed with her need to move from his lap, and his dominance.

Marcella whimpered, feeling humiliated at being made to admit her private desires to Noah, of all people. She felt herself bending to his will but still refused to answer him. Not that it mattered much, seeing as how he seemed to be able to read her mind. Even so, she still didn't want to admit to her deepest desires. She was strong, and she could resist him. Just like she had resisted every other man who had tried to control her in the last six years. She would take the orgasm building in her belly as her due, and he could enjoy a night with his own hand on his dick.