The Twelve Tables Ch. 28

"Do you have any idea what it did to me when I saw you in that Battaglia hospital?" his hand landed again on the other cheek leaving a large red print. "How could you? You refused to see me or speak to me for weeks after that," he lifted his hand from its rubbing motion and spanked her again. "I had to be patient and give you space and wait until you were ready. Did you think about what it was like for me at all?" He spanked her again. He was angry, but he kept tight control of the spanking he was giving her. He knew she could take the hard spanking, and he needed her to understand that she had to stop taking such big risks, if not for her sake then for his.

This was pure punishment, Peri thought. Any eroticism was erased by the power of his words, and she opened her mouth to protest when he spoke again.

"Lio died, Nik died, D. got shot, and you fucking disappear off the planet!" he raged losing his battle with his anger as he continued to spank her severely. Her frightened voice finally broke through the blood throbbing in his ears.

"Red! Red! Josh Stop! Red!" Peri shouted in panic and as soon as she felt his grip on her relax she rolled from his lap to the floor and knelt up to touch his face. "Josh, I'm sorry," she sobbed hearing the pain in his voice and understanding why he had lost control.

"You safe worded," he said as if in a daze.

"You sounded so angry. I got scared," Peri admitted. "Josh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were feeling that way. You never talked to me about Nik's death or that you were that affected so badly by Dante's injury. You should have told me."

"You safe worded," he said again as if he didn't quite believe it.

"Josh talk to me please," Peri implored him. She stroked his cheek watching his eyes which still seemed glazed. He'd seem so strong and in control over the deaths of his siblings. The only time she had seen him break down emotionally had been at their engagement party when she had tried to leave him again. Had he believed he had lost her again when he couldn't contact her? She wished Dante were here and considered getting up to call him when Josh's eyes seemed to clear as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry I scared you," he said softly. "I would never harm you. You are the most precious thing in my life," Josh murmured pulling her up into his arms and holding her tightly. "I couldn't bear to lose you and after what happened to D., even with the added security you're still vulnerable every time you leave this house."

"I was with Dante," she said soothingly. "Dante and at least six men loyal to your family."

"I didn't know that at the time. I didn't know where either of you were and with both Lio and Nik, being where they should have been safe and still having their lives cut short," he shook his head. "You take risks that aren't necessary. You seem to think nothing bad will ever happen. You trust people too easily. You never seemed willing to say no to anyone who asks you to do something," he closed his eyes taking a deep breath. "But you safe-worded with me," he said sadly. "I'm the one person in the world that scares you?"

"Josh I love you I know you'd never harm me. You were frightening me with what you were saying. What was happening just then had nothing to do with pleasure for either of us. You were punishing me for not considering your feelings, and I'm sorry, I didn't know that was how you were feeling. I won't do it again. You can't keep all of this bottled up the way you do."

"I don't bottle things up," he denied the accusation.

"My ass says otherwise," Peri smiled softly. "I had been waiting for that explosion since you got back yesterday. I didn't understand why you were acting so weirdly. I tried to ask how you felt when Nik died. All I thought about was how you weren't showing any emotion at the time. I didn't nag you because Dante promised me you were fine. You two left me out of the whole grieving process, and I let you because I didn't know how to feel at the time."

"I don't think any of us knew how to feel," he stopped short of admitting that he felt enormous relief that he hadn't had to send his sister into exile or worse. He had known sending Nik to the Papillo would have been a fate worse than death for her, but there had been no real choice. He remembered making the decision to have her killed and end her madness himself before he knew of his father's plans to send her to the Papillo. He'd felt relief that the decision had been taken from him, but he also felt the overwhelming sadness of knowing that her fate would kill her just as surely as an assassin would have.

Here was the biggest difference between the two men she loved, Peri realized. Dante wore his emotions on his expressive face. She rarely had to guess what he was feeling especially as she had got to know him on a deeper level. Josh had a temper but over the last twenty-four hours he had kept such a tight rein on it, she hadn't known how to deal with his anger except to apologize not fully understanding why.

"Josh I used the safe word because of what you were saying. When it is about mutual pleasure, I can take anything you dish out. I love you and trust you with my life, but you sounded so angry that it felt like pure punishment, and the pain seemed somehow harder to take. I know I endure a lot in here for you but I'm not a total masochist," she stroked his cheek. "You sounded like you were losing it."

"I know," he admitted. "When I was restraining you I felt some of that control shift which is why I stopped and pulled you over my lap." He had picked up her hand looking at the cuff still wrapped around it. "I didn't trust you to stop me if I did lose it, especially if I was using something other than my hand on you. You did stop me, though, and I am happy about that," he stroked her face. "Maybe you're not as reckless as you appear to be," he gave her a lop-sided grin.

"You always seem so willing to put yourself at risk, that it terrifies me into outbursts that are fueled more by the memory of you in the hospital, barely alive and telling me you didn't want me near you ever again, than by what is happening at the time. When Romey got out his phone the other night and showed Carmen and Emily that photo, I was almost sick. I don't want to ever feel like that again," he admitted. "It was so hard to get you back and the thought that someone or something could take you away from me again," he shook his head pulling back the tight rein on his emotions that threatened to slip again and crushed her against his body.

"You did get me back," she smiled up into his face. "You were patient and kind and understanding, and you're right, it was all about me and my recovery. I assumed with your family being there for you and the counselling we both agreed to, that you had worked through those things," she noted a sheepish look on his face. "You did go to the counselling didn't you?"

They had both attended trauma counselling after their engagement party and her attempted flight from him for a second time. They'd never gone together, though, and Peri realized at that moment that they should have, so they could see the real damage deep inside that they kept hidden from each other and the world. They were married and had children now, and he seemed to be talking about it as if the hurt of her actions was still fresh.

"I was fine. You were healing and loved me again. That was all I ever needed, your love," he murmured tilting her chin up and kissing her deeply.

"Josh, you should have gone. You've been hanging onto all that baggage. We can go together," she offered.

"Have you met my family? The new chair needs a shrink after just a few weeks as a leader, no thank you," Josh flat out refused.

"Fine then," she said after a few minutes of silence as she considered him and his implacable face. "Then we make a proper time to sit down with Dante and work through this," she said with an implacable face and tone to match his. "I'm not a risk taker anymore Josh, I'm wearing the tracker, there's probably one in my phone I don't know about. I have two security guys, and I never go anywhere without at least one of them, unless it's with you or Dante. You can't keep me under lock and key Josh, and I'm frightened that will be your next move. Especially after your announcement that you won't even talk about me going back to work unless I have a live in PA. You have to let me live Josh. I will shrivel up and die otherwise."

Her words had the desired effect on him, and he looked horrified for a split second before he pulled back, and his handsome face relaxed back into the unemotional immovable Josh that didn't like being given ultimatums.

"It's time to put what happened between Nik and me behind us. For my sake Josh, I need that as much as you do," she tried to coerce him by putting it in terms of her welfare.

"You drive me crazy," he growled and kissed her.

"So that's a yes then?" She smiled sweetly. She could feel the last remnants of the tension flowing from his body as he chuckled.

"With D.," he specified. "No shrink."

"With Dante," she smiled and kissed him again pressing her breasts against his chest and feeling the heat between them ignite again as the kiss deepened and his hands ran down her body. Crisis averted, she smiled inwardly feeling the need to reconnect with him physically.

Josh picked her up and moved her back to the footstools before him and considered her for long moments. She was everything he had ever wanted in a wife. His desire for her had never wavered since that first startling meeting where she had stood toe to toe with him and argued in the face of his wrath. He no longer felt the need to punish her. Now he wanted only to savor the gift of her submission. He ran a hand down over her body deciding how to play with her soft, pliant body as she lay face down her legs dangling off the edge too far for his needs.

Peri felt him move away from her and turned her head to watch him search the tall cupboards for what he needed. When he came back soft R&B style music was playing, and he placed an adjustable stand with a small padded seat near her head, taking his time to adjust it. Slapping her still red ass he murmured, "Sit up before I decide to spank you again for making me crazy," His voice was deep and gruff but held humor.

Josh took his time using a length of soft rope to create a bra-like structure around her breasts all the time fondling and kissing them as he worked. They weren't bound so tightly that they immediately swelled and discolored but tight enough to push the large soft globes of flesh up and out from her chest.

He helped her to lie down, turning her face down on the padded surface and placing her head on the adjustable stand so that her breasts hung slightly and were not squashed uncomfortably beneath her. His hand roamed over her back and once again smacked her ass. Her knees rested on the edge of the stool now, and he bent her legs almost double to dangle her feet above her brightly colored ass. His hands gently smoothed over the bare skin of her thighs, as he spread them widely, his fingertips teasing at the outer lips of her cunt, making her whine and lift her hips seeking more of his touch.

"Such a hot piece of ass," he grinned and smacked her again before picking up one of the spreader bars he had left there earlier. He locked it between her knees and spread it widely watching as her lips parted revealing the deep pink inner folds. Her muscles moved, and he heard her soft whimpers as he locked it in place and ran his hands up her legs again barely touching the glistening heat of her open cunt.

Peri was beside herself, all of the touching and teasing was making her body tingle with need as he positioned her with a maddeningly slow pace. She heard the whirl of the pulley system and strained to look back at him from where she lay. It seemed to go on forever and then he was beside her again caressing and kissing her back, ass and thighs.

"Up," he smacked her again, and she awkwardly walked her hands beneath her and backwards to accommodate the spreader bar between her knees. Josh took his time again teasing and fondling her as he wrapped rope around her waist, hips and secured the firm rope bra to the pulleys above her. He walked around to where she could see him then, and he bent to kiss her before guiding her down to lie on her belly again. "Comfortable?" He asked with small smile quirking his lips.

"So far," she whispered breathily.

"I'll soon fix that," he kissed her deeply, groaning softly before standing and pressing a glass butt plug to her lips. "Warming this up a little before I use it, might help," he slid it into her mouth as he returned to her side. Seeing him pick up a something else from the equipment he had put on the other chair earlier she knew the discomfort was about to increase. His version of "fixing that" was not as promising as it had sounded.

Peri felt the small bullet shaped toy make contact with her hot wet cunt and jumped. It was already vibrating in a slow, soft rhythm as he pressed it to her clit making her whimper and squirm in her bonds. He pressed it into her forcing it deep as his fingers continued to move and tease her until she trembled, then he stopped abruptly and withdrew his hand slapping her ass again without any force. His hand remained there smoothing the hot red skin for a few moments before spreading her cheeks, and she felt the cold wetness of lube trickle down between them.

Josh watched mesmerized by the sight and sound of her as the tight anal ring of her ass slowly gave way to his oily finger. He took his time preparing her for the large plug, eventually fucking her ass with two fingers as she whimpered and squirmed. He saw her thighs begin to tremble as she neared her orgasm and stopped once again. He pulled his hand away and retrieved the plug from the warmth of her mouth and fucked her with it for several long minutes before embedding it securely into her ass. Her begging for release and the impending climax she had been building to over again was music to his ears but he was far from finished with her, and he didn't want her floating off into clouds of bliss just yet.

Peri was beside herself. The long drawn out way he had been restraining and teasing her had made her so hot and needy she was begging for more, begging for him to spank her, use her, fuck her anything if he only let her come. The climax she felt building was so close she would feel it in every nerve ending, yet it still seemed so far away each time he stopped and changed his attack on her senses. She felt him lift her knees and place a leg presumably a knee on the edge of the footstool holding the spreader bar up with his body as he reached forward and maneuvered her feet back further over her ass.

The second spreader bar was placed behind the rope that attached her hips to the ceiling, and her ankles were secured it as Josh took the weight of the awkward position of her knees with his body until she was secure and her hips lifted from the padded surface below her.

"Just beautiful," he murmured tapping her cunt with his open hand enjoying how she jerked and whimpered at his touch, though he hadn't tapped with force, he knew it was hard enough for her to feel the light pain he intended to inflict. Josh began to move quickly then knowing the position was going to cause her more than a little discomfort and eventually some pain. He moved up her side pulling first one arm back and attaching it to the same bar as her feet, then the other pulling her shoulders back and her chest from the stool making her raise her head.

Peri saw him come into view before her now. His cock tantalizingly out of her reach just above her head. His hands seem to smooth her hair pulling it back into a ponytail and forcing her to look up at him. Her eyes left the object of her desire and travelled up his body to his face and the dark, hungry eyes he watched her with. He braided her hair and tied it tightly pulling her head back further as he secured it to the rope holding her shoulders up.

Once again the whirl of the pulley sounded interrupting the heavy bass beat of the music, and she found herself lifted until only the barest amount of her belly remained supported by the stools below her. When Josh appeared again before her, she stared straight at his hard cock. She licked her lips parting them in her willingness to devour him.

"I love how flexible you are," he murmured hotly, his hands running over her back and around her ribs to her breasts. He teased her lips with just the tip of his cock as he fondled her nipples. Then he squatted down before her and kissed her swallowing her cries as his fingers pinched and twisted the swollen buds. He broke the kiss as he attached the clamps he held to her nipples being careful of their position. He licked a tear from her face and kissed her deeply, his hand gently cradling each side of her head as she hung, her body bowed by the hog tie.

"I may share you with D., with the children, with the whole fucking family but you have always been mine. My love, my wife, mine," he said with passion and kissed her again. "You became mine at that chalet, and it was the last place that you were totally mine. Mine alone before the Battaglia, before the family involvement, before Dante." He tried to make her understand his mood when he had arrived on Friday afternoon. "It was where I stayed when you left me," he admitted. "If you had chosen anywhere but there I wouldn't have reacted as badly. Now we've wasted a whole day, and you my love are paying the price." Josh practically growled the last sentence and his dark eyes smoldered as he gazed at her stunned expression. "I'm going to make you remember just how it feels to be fucked senseless," he lips quirked into a smile, and he stood.

Peri's mind reeled at his admission. She had no idea. She had been so wrapped up in her misery and recovery that she had given little thought to his during that time in their lives. His words only served to heighten her arousal, though, and she watched as he stood and moved his cock just within reach of her lips. She couldn't move, not even rock towards him, and she strained to take more of him into her mouth. He stepped agonizingly slowly forward feeding her his cock little by little until unable to control his need any longer he began to saw in and out of her mouth

He felt his climax rising too fast and he pulled away with a loud groan breathing heavily. Picking up a light flogger he colored her back and ass once more as he regained some control but mindful of the clamps and restraints he made his way down to where her ass and cunt were on open display to him. He landed the flogger several times between her legs watching her body jerk and twist in the tight restraints. With her hips upturned and inviting his cruel use he landed it once more with some force and savored the cry, she let out.

He rearranged the footstools giving him more space to between her thighs and pulled the vibrating egg from her. Wrapping the hand holding the egg in around her thigh he pressed it against her clit as he rammed his cock into her hard feeling the hot wetness of her insides melt around him. "Fuck he groaned loudly drowning out her cry of pleasure.

Peri almost came on that first thrust, her body shaking hard within her bondage. A moment later the clamps were ripped away, and she screamed as he pounded his cock into her again. Her nipples and clit sang in a discordant chorus of exquisite pain as he fucked her hard buffeting the big heavy glass plug in her ass. She lost track of time her whole body seemingly one large mess of painful ecstasy. She couldn't move one limb without putting pressure on another, and he continued to fuck her like a machine as he began to float on the endorphins that coursed through her body on wave after wave of her ongoing orgasm. She barely felt the plug leave her ass and Josh transfer his cock to her tightest of holes. He wasn't cautious, ramming more and more of his big beautiful cock into her ass with each thrust.