Page 56 of Leviticus
“Oh!” she exclaimed, my presence surprising her. “Hello, Levi.”
“Ruth,” I breathed out. My body took over before my brain had a chance to connect the dots, crossing the room and taking her into my arms. I walked around the kitchen bar top and spun her around to face me. My hand cupped her cheek, sliding back into those tousled curls, and my lips found hers before I could speak a single word.
Her taste was exquisite. Pure Ruth with a tinge of mint from her toothpaste. She whimpered in my mouth and melted in my arms and against the sturdiness of the countertop behind her. I pulled back after a long moment, our foreheads resting against each other as we caught our breath.
“Where did that come from?” she murmured softly. I could feel her breath brush against my lips, an echo of our kiss.
“You. That was all because of you,” I chuckled lightly against her lips, leaning forward to kiss her once more. I pulled back, looking her over again. “You look exquisite, Ruth.”
“Thank you. I made some alterations to the dress this afternoon. I hope it’s not too risque or—” I stopped her with a finger to her lips.
“Hush. This dress looks incredible on you.”
“It was my funeral dress. I shortened the hem, removed the sleeves and made the vee neckline. It’s not much but, I thought it looked nice and I do have a backup black dress if need be,” she explained. It was everything I could do to not reach out and touch her.
“You did a wonderful job. I wish you had one hundred dresses just like it,” I praised.
“Or perhaps no dresses at all would be better,” she quipped with a wink before turning back to the counter and finishing preparing our meal. I stood there, slightly shocked, for a single moment. Ruth was flirting. With me. Whatever I had to do to keep her flirting like that… I would do. Tenfold.
“So, what do you have planned for us this evening?” I asked, finally finding my words again.
“Well, I thought we could have a nice picnic again, but this time inside. Perhaps you could start a fire in the living room and we could spread out the blanket on the floor to enjoy the warmth while we eat and talk?” She turned to me, looking up with hopeful eyes.
“That sounds like perfection. I’ll go get the fire started now,” I offered, leaning in to kiss her forehead before I left the room. I took my time setting the fire; it gave me time to think. A picnic by firelight, cozy together on the floor, her in that dress… it was all incredibly romantic. Incredibly sensual. Tonight might very well prove to be a lesson in control.
I stared into the fire as it came to life, imagining the stunning woman in the next room coming alive under my touch, just as the fire had come alive under the protective stone casing of my fireplace. Flickers of heat, twisting, and growing. Consistently guiding and molding her into the submissive she wished to be.
“Ahem,” she cleared her throat behind me. I turned and my breath caught again. The vee cut of her neckline showed the swell of her breath, the hem raised to just above her knees, giving me a perfect glimpse of her shapely legs. Legs I wished were wrapped around my waist as I plunged into her heated depths.
Christ, I needed to get control of myself.
“Here, let me help you,” I offered, honestly just needing something to do to keep my hands busy withanythingother than taking her into my arms. “This looks delicious, Ruth. Thank you,” I praised, setting the tray of food down on the blanket, followed by the glass of water on the coffee table.
I helped her get situated on the blanket before sitting across from her. The firelight played across her skin in the darkened room. The sunlight was just dipping down below the trees, casting shadows in the room as the evening progressed.
“Will you tell me more about kink?” she asked somewhat abruptly. We had only begun to eat and it took me by surprise.
“Well, I’ve told you how I learned about the community and what it is to me. What would you like to know?”
“Hmm,” she seemed to ponder over my question. “Well, you told me what you get out of it. Is that what most people get out of it? Or what most people are into?”
Her question was a good one. A very good one. It didn’t serve me well to only tell her about my own proclivities.
“Kink and BDSM are diverse and expansive communities of inclusion. We could talk for hours and day and still not talk about all the things that are included. Part of the joy of it is discovering about yourself and your desires. Many are into Dominance and submission power exchanges. Some are into other kinds of power exchanges. There are many, many kinds.” I took a sip of my water before continuing, watching as she slipped a slice of fruit between her lips.
“Like what?” she asked, leaning forward in interest.
“Well, some are like me, wanting power exchanges that are mostly in the bedroom, but have parts that echo out into everyday life. Others want a full power exchange twenty-four seven. That’s typically known as Master/slave dynamics,” I explained.
“Ew, wait,” she scrunched up her face in distaste. “Slavery? Like, they can’t say no?”
“Well, no. Consent is very important in all dynamics. Everything that a couple chooses to do is discussed and agreed on beforehand. Then there are fail-safes, like safewords.”
“What’s a safeword?” she asked.
“It’s a word, or set of words, that the couple agrees on. Each word means a very specific thing. Most use the stoplight system. Red, yellow, and green,” I explained, taking a bite of cheese.
“Oh, that makes sense. Red for stop. Yellow for… I can’t remember that one. But green is go. Right?” she asked, proud of herself for knowing a part of my world. I could see it written on her face.
