Nine Tenths of the Law ~ For Leo

[Leopald]

It was a rather peaceful walk, largely uninterrupted, that led them to the tranquil scene of the waterfall and abby. It was rather beautiful, even if they were getting strange looks now. Martin assumed these people all knew or recognized Tara, probably through work, but it didn't really bother him much. And there were no words needed between them as she snuggled into his side there on the bench.

The sun was shining, though it wasn't warm enough to be uncomfortable, and the dull roar of cascading water wasn't overwhelming, either. His fingers stroked up and down her arm as they sat in silence, and he gazed at her longingly. There, beneath the gentle breeze with a handful of bystanders, he drew her chin up with a gentle finger and placed a gentle kiss upon her lips.

He was struggling to make it just what it was; a non-invasive show of affection, romantic in a small gesture, though he was still wondering if that's how it had come across. He cracked a small smile as his forehead rested intimately against hers, and whispered softly, "So... How am I doing so far?"

As if on cue, the breeze blew gently across their faces, stirring the nerves and tiny hairs into motion. Even he had to fight a slight shiver from taking him, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly, still pressed against her. Taking joy in the little things should do well in establishing him once more as the caring dominant, and he was glad for the opportune moment. Always take what one can get, and it was what Martin lived by.

He pulled a coin out of his pocket, not caring or noting the value. A flash of a friendly smile as he pulled her up and guided her to the base of the falls.

 

[fuckmeat]

Tara relaxed into the crook of his arm, feeling the most at ease she had been since Martin's flight had landed. Her eyes widened as he lifted her chin and kissed her right in front of everybody. It wasn't a particularly passionate kiss, nothing that would cause anyone watching to tut disapprovingly, it was a sweet moment of gentle intimacy. The breeze played across her face and nipples, tugging them into life against his shirt as she kissed him back, shuddering slightly. Martin lingered, his forehead pressed to hers. There was no hardness or demanding dominance whatsoever in his expression, just the sincere desire to make up for what he had done. Tara suddenly had the wild urge to curl herself onto his lap and nestle there, uncaring of what anybody might think, but she checked herself. When he spoke, his voice was warm and soft.

"So... How am I doing so far?"

"Pretty good." She conceded, smiling up at him. Tara wanted to kiss him more deeply but didn't have the nerve to with so many people around. The desire was there in her eyes though, burning for him.

He pulled a coin from his pocket and drew her to the base of the waterfall. Most people threw coppers in but Martin held a pound coin. Tara just stood there, waiting to see what he would do, enjoying Martin's proximity for a change. Her arm went around his waist and Tara let her thumb sit in one of his belthooks. Now his height and strength once again felt like safety and protection instead of a walking latent threat. Tara was having thoughts about taking him home again too, she just hoped he would behave himself once they got there. If he treated her like shit again she was going to make him leave. There would be no third chance for Martin, Tara vowed it to herself.

 

[Leopald]

It seemed to Martin that he had finally found some solid ground to stand on once again. He had been flailing desperately almost since landing, and it was too important to risk another incident like last night or this morning. He needed more control before he could afford opening up on what he planned would be his new slave.

Most thought of a slave as just a cute title, a role to be slipped in and out of at will, but Martin knew better. She would be completely his; her life, finances, status, everything for him. It probably made him a terrible person, but he relished the idea of completely owning this beautiful woman. Yet, his face remained calm and gentle as he made a show of tossing the coin into the fountain.

It was getting later in the afternoon now, and he was fairly certain that he'd bought himself at least another shot with her. But there was no such thing as too careful in this case, so he decided to take his time and with walking and talking some more.

The scenery was beautiful, and he led her back along the path the way they came, sharing jokes, laughing softly, and trying to get her to open up more. He was treating her as a equal now, not as a submissive. It was hard to imagine all of the dirty things they had discussed online, when anyone viewed them in this state. It took a while to make it back to the main area, and when they finally did, it was looking to be much later in the afternoon.

"What time is it?" Martin furrowed his brow and stared up at the sky for a moment. "Think we should head back for some dinner?"

 

[fuckmeat]

Tara watched Martin toss his coin into the water but he wouldn't be drawn on what he had wished for, insisting that named wishes never came true. They had walked back to the village slowly and more companionably than even Tara could have hoped for. They idly chatted about everything and nothing and Martin let her banter with him, talking easily and not controlling the conversation. When they made it back to the village it was already late afternoon but Tara felt like they had hardly spent any time together. She decided that was a good sign.

"Sure, I have plenty of groceries in." She announced.

Tara knew from countless movies that Americans usually dined earlier than Brits and so she figured he must be hungry. They went back to her house and she left him in the lounge with a coffee and the TV remote while she started cooking. Her laptop was open on her desk too if he wanted to use it. Beside it lay some correspondence including bills and her payslip. It was also where she left her hanbag containing things like her keys, purse, cards and so on. On the laptop, in the Google Chrome browser, there was a row of little icons below the address bar. They linked to bookmarked sites she visited, like her bank, the tax office and so on. There were pornographic sites too, including a very kinky one that brought up lists of her recently viewed and favourite videoclips. Obviously, most of these things had a password but Tara used the same password for everything.

She flipped the radio on in the kitchen and set about putting together a ham, mushroom and veg risotto with a Mediterranean salad that she would drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Tara opened a bottle of red and left it to breathe.

 

[Leopald]

Martin had been content to follow in her wake as they made their way through the small village and to her home. Then, as she bustled off towards the kitchen, he settled in front of the television with remote in hand, steaming coffee on the table before him. His thumb clicked a few buttons, finding some random sitcom he didn't recognize, which wasn't surprising, given he was in another country. It didn't really matter, though. He wasn't too concerned with the tv, given the far more interesting material in the form opened bills and statements, along with her laptop offered for use. Interesting bookmarks, and certainly worth a gander or two.

With one eye and his ears always mindful of the doorway to the kitchen, he thumbed through the various opened mail, making notes of whatever financial information he could. Expenses, account statements, bills... It was all laid out so carelessly, it was a wonder she'd never suffered identity theft before.

When he was satisfied with what he could learn without making notes and getting more from her personally, he straightened the envelopes and papers, to give the appearance that he had simply felt the need to tidy up a bit. The single stack was pushed to the edge of the table, and the laptop was turned so he could better see it. He quickly opened a second tab, in addition to the one already up, and with the first, he visited the website where they had originally met. The other tab was directed to an interesting-looking porn site, and he spent a few minutes browsing her selections. Interesting stuff, and a slight smile as he got an idea of some of her kinks. There were even things on here that she hadn't shared with him, and that they had never played out together. Mental notes were made, and he redirected the browser to what looked like her banking site. It didn't seem like she had the auto-fill feature turned on for her name and password, though, so this venture would have to wait for now.

He closed the tab and opened up the browser history function, deleting his browsing and cookie evidence quickly. Once finished, he went back to the first tab, with their shared site displayed, and pretended to be interested in the various forums and messages for a few minutes. He slowly sipped his coffee as he clicked, and then set it down to type out a reply for a thread.

With one eye on the television, the other on the screen, he waited for her to declare the meal ready.

 

[fuckmeat]

Tara's lounge was small, so she had a table that just about sat four well acquainted people crammed into her kitchen. She laid out two places with mats, plates and cutlery onto the varnished wood. Next came wine and water glasses. She kept one eye on the risotto while tossing the salad in its dressing and setting the large bowl out. The risotto went onto another bowl and was topped with parmesan. She poured out two glasses of wine and took a gulp of her own. Then she went to summon Martin, thinking it'd be rude to simply call him through.

He was using her laptop, which she had sanctioned and she could see that he was writing a post on a forum they frequented. She hadn't expected him to be doing anything untoward but it was still a relief that he was behaving himself. He looked up politely as she approached him and made no attempt to block her view of whatever he had been doing, which she took as another good sign.

"Dinner's served." She announced, still refraining from addressing Martin as 'Sir.'

Tara led him through to the kitchen and urged him to tuck in.